South African airline Airlink has signed a ‘TotalCare’ service agreement with Rolls-Royce for the AE3007 engines that power its Embraer ERJ135 aircraft.

The agreement covers 28 aircraft and is an extension of service for a further 10 years.

“Airlink and Rolls-Royce have worked hand in hand since the introduction of the ERJ135 to our fleet in May 2001,” said Airlink’s CEO Rodger Foster. “We operate 28 ERJs with a pool of 64 AE3007-A1/3 engines. We are proud of the phenomenal reliability we have achieved from these engines which have underpinned Airlink’s industry leading on-time performance, which has consistently been above 97 per cent.

“Our TotalCare service agreement has been key to the management of engine maintenance costs and to ensuring the economic sustainability of the ERJ135 type for the foreseeable future. We are delighted at the dependability of the Rolls-Royce team and their engines.”

Rolls-Royce’s vice president, customers Europe Middle East & Africa Stewart Evans commented: “Our partnership with Airlink goes back to 2001 and this TotalCare extension is a testament to our strong working relationship and mutual trust of one another.

“I’m especially proud of the way both teams have worked closely together during the pandemic to manage maintenance costs effectively for both parties whilst enhancing our service offering at the same time. The entire team at Rolls-Royce is honoured to be able to serve Airlink and their customers for many more years to come.”