Rolls-Royce and Air China to Establish JV MRO Facility in Beijing, China

(05 September 2022, 11:00 +07)  Rolls-Royce and Air China are in the process of establishing a 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Beijing, China.

The new company, BAESL (Beijing Aero Engine Services), will provide MRO support on Rolls-Royce Trent 700, Trent XWB-84 and Trent 1000 aero engines.

Air China currently has all three engine types in its fleet.

At full capacity, scheduled for the mid 2030s, BAESL will be able to support up to 250 shop visits per year.

The facility will offer MRO services to Air China as well as our other airline customers based in Greater China and beyond.

Air China A350-900 reg: B-307C. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Today, Rolls-Royce powers 60% of China’s widebody fleet, powering more than 550 aircraft in service or on order.

Trent 700 engines also power 90% of the country’s Airbus A330 fleet and the Greater China fleet represents 20% of all Trent engines flying today.

Ma Chongxian, President of Air China, said, “With safe operation as top priority, Air China has long been committed to developing aircraft maintenance capabilities and ensuring the reliability of the fleet, meanwhile striving to promote the industrialisation of aircraft maintenance. In the future, Air China and Rolls-Royce will continue to deepen our profound partnership and start a new journey of cooperation in the field of high thrust engine maintenance. We look forward to building the Joint Venture into a world-class aero engine MRO company and increasing the volume of China’s civil aero engine MRO industry.”

The new facility, part of Rolls-Royce's strategy to expand its MRO network, will also support the continued expansion of the company's Global Care Network.

Chris Cholerton, President – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said, “The announcement of this JV is an important milestone for Rolls-Royce in China, where we have been powering the nation’s airlines for more than 50 years. Air China is a strategic partner for us, having successfully grown together over many years, and I am delighted to now expand our relationship with this exciting partnership in MRO and look forward to continued growth of our collaboration.”

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