Air China and Rolls-Royce have entered into a 50-50 Joint Venture (JV) to develop new maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility. The new facility will be called BAESL (Beijing Aero Engine Services Company Limited) and will provide MRO support on Air China’s Trent 700, Trent XWB-84, and Trent 1000 aero engines.
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 the continued growth of our collaboration.”
This JV is a part of Rolls-Royce’s strategic plans of establishing a firm base in China. Apart from Air China, the facility will provide MRO services to other operators in China and Asia-Pacific.
Ma Chongxian, President of Air China, said: “With safe operation as a 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 industrialization 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 BAESL MRO is expected to achieve full capacity by mid-2030 and will be able to support 250 shop visits per year.
