Korean Air Plans Asia’s Largest Engine MRO Facility

Engine issues have significantly disrupted many airlines over the last five or so years, particularly those who have been early adopters of new-generation aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and 737 or the Airbus A320neo Family. The entry-into-service of new technology engines has not always been smooth, and today, hundreds of perfectly good aircraft are sitting on the ground due to reliability and durability issues with engines.

Korean Air is looking after itself

As travel restarted, there was also a mad rush to bring aircraft out of storage and back into active service, which also impacted engines and the unavailability of maintenance facilities, spare parts and skilled technicians resulted in more aircraft sitting on the ground longer than expected.

Rather than bemoan its fate, Korean Air is taking more control of keeping its engines operating by building Asia’s largest engine maintenance complex near Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN), which is scheduled to open in 2027.

Last Thursday, Korean Air announced it had started constructing an engine maintenance cluster in Unbuk, South Korea, to bolster its engine maintenance capabilities and strengthen its aviation MRO business. The groundbreaking ceremony for the extensive facility was held on March 14, and it will be strategically located adjacent to the existing Engine Test Call (ETC) that Korean Air has been operating since 2015.

The new complex will feature seven levels, with five above-ground and two basement floors, spanning more than 140,000 square meters (1.5 million square feet) and is being constructed by Kolon Global for 578 billion won ($438.2m). The new facility will combine all the elements of the engine MRO process, which had previously involved engine maintenance at the Bucheon facility, complemented by final performance testing at the ETC in Unbuk.

Photo: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock

Korean Air said this strategic consolidation will streamline the process and enhance operational efficiency by bringing all phases of engine maintenance to a single, centralized site. One of those breaking ground was Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Choo, who said:

The critical metric comes back to the first point of having more engine MRO capability, and Korean Air is not only adding more capacity but is also introducing new engine types, making it a very attractive MRO provider across Asia-Pacific. When it opens, the new complex will be able to service around 360 engines annually, a dramatic leap from the 100 per year it can handle today.

A full deck of capabilities

Currently, the airline looks after engine MRO for six engine types, including Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000 (Airbus A330) and Geared Turbofan (GTF) (Airbus A220, A320neo and Embraer E2), CFM International’s CFM56 (Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and others), and General Electric’s GE90-115B (Boeing 777).

Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Simple Flying

The airline said it is also exploring the possibility of adding the capability for the engines of merger-target Asiana Airlines, including the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB used on the Airbus A350 widebody aircraft, as well as CFM’s LEAP-1B and GE’s GEnx. Korean Air is the only specialized engine MRO in South Korea and traces its roots back to overhauling the engines of the Boeing 707 aircraft in 1976.

Since then, it has rebuilt nearly 5,000 engines for itself and its subsidiary Jin Air and other airlines such as Delta Air Lines and China Southern Airlines. It has certifications from 13 domestic and international aviation authorities, including the Korean Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, EASA and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).