Lufthansa wins contract to maintain Kingfisher's aircraft

In a sign of India's growing importance as a market for the global aviation industry, German aircraft-maintenance giant Lufthansa Technik AG expects to announce today a contract with India's Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. valued at more than $100 million over 10 years.Lufthansa Technik, the maintenance and repair subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, will maintain Kingfisher's growing fleet of Airbus A320 single-aisle aircraft and their engines.Kingfisher, a unit of Indian conglomerate UB Group, has grown rapidly since its first flight in May 2005. Recent deregulation of the airline market in India, the world's second-most populated nation, has spurred creation of many new airlines.

Yet India lacks much of the infrastructure needed to support a modern aviation industry, such as adequate airports and air traffic control systems. Most carriers must send planes to maintenance facilities in the Middle East or Southeast Asia.With demand growing, Lufthansa Technik is looking to build operations with India. It is setting up an Indian unit with domestic infrastructure group GMR Group. The facility will offer basic maintenance services for single-aisle aircraft from Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., and U.S. rival Boeing Co.

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