Yamal Airlines finds APU maintenance solution for expanding fleet

The carrier will bring its SSJ100 fleet up to 16 units in early 2018 (Helmy oved / Wikimedia.org)

Russian regional carrier Yamal Airlines, which is planning to enlarge its fleet with the addition of six Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft early next year, has awarded APU maintenance contracts to Tennessee, USA-based engineering repair specialist StandardAero.

Yamal Airlines is headquarted in Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenetsk Autonomous District. Established in 1997, it operates an expanding array of regional passenger services from its main hub at Tyumen.

The two multi-year APU contracts include a three-year agreement to provide Honeywell-standard MRO services on Yamal’s fleet of 10 CRJ-200LR aircraft and a five-year agreement supporting Honeywell services on the carrier’s 10 SSJ100s. APU services will be provided at StandardAero’s Maryville, Tennessee facility.

A Honeywell authorized service centre, StandardAero provides customers “with the most experience and comprehensive workmanship in the industry,” reads the company’s announcement. It serves a diverse range of customers in business and general aviation, supporting airline, military, and helicopter operators, as well as providing components, energy, and VIP completions markets. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011.

StandardAero is an independent provider of aviation services, including engine and airframe maintenance, repair, and overhaul, engine component repair, engineering services, interior completions, and paint applications.

Two years ago, it was acquired by Veritas Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in New York City, which invests in companies that provide “critical products and services” to government and commercial customers worldwide, including those operating in the aerospace and defense, health care, technology, national security, communications, energy, and education industries, says the statement.

“These long-term [Yamal Airlines] agreements, with one of the largest fleets of the new SSJ100 and a leading regional carrier in Russia, are a result of StandardAero’s reputation for delivering high quality, cost-effective services and our ability to support cross-product maintenance solutions for all of Yamal’s APU MRO service requirements,” stresses Peter Turner, president of StandardAero Airlines and Fleets.