KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has appointed Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) to provide component support for its expanding fleet of Airbus A320neo passenger jets.

In a statement, the low-cost carrier said the contract inked by the two groups in Sepang on Thursday included component repair services and solutions designed to maximise aircraft availability, such as the provision of a local main base kit at AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur facility.

AirAsia, which took delivery of its first A320neo on Sept 7 in Hamburg, is expected to ultimately have 304 A320neo jets.

The value of the contract is not disclosed in the statement, but based on a Reuters report, it is worth US$105mil (RM465mil) and spans 10 ywars.

“To earn the trust of AirAsia, the world’s largest low-cost carrier by passengers carried and jet fleet, AFI KLM E&M came up with an ultra-competitive support offer, specially tailored to the expectations of the carrier, which was looking for maximum aircraft availability,” the carrier said.

“With its experience of large-scale support, whether for its parent airlines or its third-party airline clients, AFI KLM E&M is able to offer maintenance solutions for very large fleets like that operated by AirAsia.

AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said: “Operating a new-generation aircraft at such a large scale requires adaptive, world-class support, and we have the utmost confidence that AFI KLM E&M will be able to provide us with the responsiveness, reliability and performance needed.”

AirAsia said it had already had an opportunity to test the effectiveness of the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions delivered by AFI KLM E&M, which currently provides component support for the fleet of A330s operated by AirAsia X,

Anne Brachet, executive vice-president of Air France KLM Engineering & Maintenance, said: “This outstanding contract is further proof of the quality and reputation of the aircraft maintenance services that we provide. Following the fruitful partnership with AirAsia X, we are proud to welcome its parent airline.”