Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lorena Air chooses Malaysia for maintenance services

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Jakarta, Jakarta

Malaysia Airlines Engineering & Maintenance will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to PT Eka Sari Lorena Airlines' (Lorena Air) new fleet of six Boeing 737 aircraft under a three year agreement worth US$48 million.

The agreement was signed last week in Malaysia by Lorena Air's CEO, Eka Sari Lorena Surbakti, and the senior general manager of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Mohd. Roslan Ismail, a statement says.

The full-service airline, a subsidiary of Lorena Transport Group, will commence scheduled services in August with routes from its base in Jakarta to Surabaya (East Java), Denpasar (Bali), Balikpapan (East Kalimantan), Manado (North Sulawesi), Palembang (South Sumatra) and Kuala Lumpur.

Lorena Group -- best known as a luxury bus operator on the islands of Java, Madura, Bali and Sumatra -- plans to increase its fleet to 15 Boeing passenger jets over the coming years.

"MAS's worldwide experience and MRO capabilities, together with our engineering team, will definitely help us sustain our goal of ensuring the best global companies support our operations," said Eka Sari.

Roslan said the six B737s were expected to be ready for service by September this year.

"Our entire staff is firmly focused on providing Lorena Air and all of our other customers the best services possible as we continue to build upon our existing business relationships and remain a preferred MRO provider," said Roslan.

With years of experience in the transportation business, Lorena says the airline has what it takes to be successful, even at a time when the country's airline industry is reeling.

Indonesia's aviation industry has taken a hit from a series of deadly accidents, raising serious questions about the industry's safety standards and forcing the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines from its jurisdiction.

Saudi Arabia is also considering a similar ban.

"The agreement shows that we are serious about our services and safety standards," Eka Sari said.

MAS Engineering and Maintenance commenced operations in 1972 and has over 30 years of experience in the MRO business. It has obtained approval to carry out maintenance work from international bodies such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

To date, it has obtained approval from airlines in 14 countries for certification of component work and aircraft maintenance, including Air France, KLM and Qantas Airways. (02)

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