HAECO and Cathay form company to provide technical management services

HONG KONG Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) and Cathay Pacific Airways have teamed up to form a joint venture company, HAECO ITM Limited (HXITM) in Hong Kong to provide inventory technical management services to Cathay Pacific, Dragonair and other airline customers.

HAECO ITM services primarily cover provisions and pool management of components inventory, management of component repairs/overhaul and engineering-reliability, supply chain management and 24/7 AOG support.

HXITM, which is 70 per cent owned by HAECO and the remaining 30 per cent owned by Cathay Pacific will be managed by HAECO, with staff seconded from the existing HAECO ITM business and Cathay Pacific Engineering. The joint venture will take over HAECO's existing aircraft component assets, combine it with Cathay Pacific's existing inventory, to support both Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, and other airline customers, a statement said.

HAECO chief executive officer Augustus Tang said: "This is a milestone development for HAECO. The global trend is that airlines will outsource more non-core capital intensive engineering activities such as component management to service providers. This transaction enables improved economies of scale and creates synergies with Cathay Pacific, putting the best-in-class joint venture organisation in a strong position to manage supplier relationships and secure potential customers in the Asia Pacific region where strong growth is expected."