Lufthansa Technik and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines (GX Airlines) have announced an agreement for the maintenance of CFM-LEAP engines.

This marks Lufthansa Technik’s first CFM-LEAP service contract in China and comes after the firm recently obtained approved maintenance organisation certification for LEAP-1A services from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The engine services contract covers MRO activity for the Chinese airline’s A320neo fleet.

GX Airlines uses Nanning Wuxu International Airport as its main operating base and currently operates 27 aircraft including 15 Airbus A320s and 12 ERJ190s, flying 70 routes to more than 50 cities.

Gao Yukun, president of GX Airlines, said: “It is with great confidence that we entrust Lufthansa Technik with engine services for our A320neo fleet. The company already has extensive experience with LEAP-1A engines, serving a variety of customers.

“We look forward to Lufthansa Technik developing knowledge and methods for sending engines back to us with the highest possible return on investment.”

Dennis Kohr, senior vice president of corporate sales for Asia Pacific at Lufthansa Technik, said: “We are thrilled to have successfully closed the first contract in China for this service.

“We were the first independent MRO provider worldwide to sign a CFM Branded Service Agreement (CBSA) for both the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines and the first ones to complete a Performance Restoration Shop Visit on a LEAP-1A engine to restore the engine’s original performance.

“So, this agreement is the next milestone, underlining our commitment to deliver high-quality, reliable MRO services to our customers in China and beyond.”

READ MORE NEWS: Lufthansa Technik and Vietjet agree new Total Component Support deal