NEW DEHLI—Air India has expanded its partnership with SIA Engineering Company Ltd. (SIAEC) for developing its base maintenance facilities in Bengaluru. As a part of the agreement, Air India along with SIAEC, the engineering arm of Singapore Airlines, will plan, construct, develop and operationalize the Bengaluru facilities.
Experts have called this a symbiotic relationship between an airline and MRO as both of them have a lot to gain. Air India will gain the capabilities, training, etc. while working with SIAEC, while the MRO will earn a ticket inside India’s MRO circle.
In February, Air India announced plans to set up MRO facilities at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru for widebody and narrowbody aircraft checks. The facility, projected to be completed by 2026, also will include repair shops that will cater to the rising MRO demand of Air India’s growing fleet.
The Tata Group is investing INR 1300 crore Indian Rupees ($156.8 million) to enable Air India to develop in-house capabilities so it can become more self-sufficient in MRO operations.
Air India is on a massive transformation journey with airlines, OEMs as well as MROs from all over the world eager to be a part of the airline’s huge transformation.
As part of this transformation, four airlines—Air India, Air India Express, AirAsia India and Vistara—will merge under the Air India umbrella. Singapore Airlines will hold a 25.1% stake.
Air India announced on May 13 that it plans to complete the merger with Vistara by the end of December. This is earlier than the mid-2025 time frame originally announced by Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan. Starting in June, the Tata Group will start integrating more than 7,000 airline employees as the group airlines push for a rapid transition to one full-service carrier.
The selection of SIAEC for building the MRO facilities is also a part of Tata-backed Air India’s extended plan to develop Bengaluru as its second aviation hub in the country, as the airline seeks to strengthen its operations beyond the capital. Given that the airline traffic from the South-Indian hub is expected to achieve record passenger flights in just a few months, this should lead to unprecedented demand for line maintenance and basic aircraft checks.
The relationship between SIAEC and Air India dates back to 2017 when AIESL (the then-engineering arm of Air India) signed a non-binding memorandum to provide line maintenance and other “ancillary services,” including training, at Indian airports. Earlier this year, Air India in February signed a 12-year component support agreement with SIAEC for its A320 fleet.
Eyeing this as another exciting opportunity to work with Air India, Chin Yau Seng, chief executive at SIAEC, expressed delight to be able to play a part in the airlines’ journey and says he hopes to have more opportunities to collaborate with Air India in the Indian MRO space.
Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson hails this partnership in the airline’s efforts to strengthen India’s aviation infrastructure by boosting the growth of the country’s MRO industry.
