On the occasion of the Singapore Airshow, the European turboprop manufacturer ATR and Fokker Services Asia today announced the signature of an agreement covering airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services of ATR aircraft operating in South East Asia at the Fokker Services Asia facilities in Singapore.

ATR aims to provide its operators with a worldwide choice of independent and highly-skilled airframe maintenance services providers. This ATR MRO Network is a step forward of the regional policy established by ATR customer services, with the objective to offer local efficient solutions to ATR operators on logistics, training and maintenance.

Based on this agreement, Fokker Services Asia will comply with ATR's dedicated policy aimed at providing optimal solutions to the operator through the respect of fundamental customer care rules.

Beyond the selection of Fokker Services as MRO partner and recommended-provider of maintenance services in South East Asia, ATR will continue to expand its MRO network within the following months by entering into agreements with additional MRO partners around the world.

Commenting on this agreement, Lilian Braylé, Senior Vice-president of Product Support and Services of ATR, declares: "Through the ATR MRO network, we are further expanding the range of solutions offered to ATR operators, relying on highly skilled MRO providers particularly selected for their knowledge and experience on maintenance activities. In addition, our partnership with some key MRO providers will enable us to extend our Global Maintenance Agreement offer to airframe base maintenance".

Mr Peter Somers, President of Fokker Services declares: "We are very proud to become member of the ATR MRO Network. It represents the next phase of an already longstanding relationship between Fokker Services Asia and ATR which started in 2001 when we got EASA approval for working on ATR aircraft. Our focus has always been the regional aircraft market and this fits in perfectly with that strategy. Having just opened a new state-of-the-art facility in Singapore we are in a strong position to support existing and new operators of ATR aircraft with their maintenance needs."

ATR is well established in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 250 aircraft in operation and some other 80 on order. ATR has also been present for years in the region with a Customer Support Center based in Singapore. Support facilities of ATR in Asia include also spare parts warehouse in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Auckland as well as training facilities in Bangkok.

About Fokker Services:

Fokker Services is part of Fokker Technologies, which develops and produces advanced components and systems for the aerospace industry, and supplies integrated maintenance services and products to aircraft owners and operators. In 2010 the group achieved a turnover of  EUR616 million with 3,700 employees.

About ATR:

Founded in 1981, ATR has become the world leader on the market for regional aircraft with 90 seats or less. Since its creation, ATR has sold approximately 1,200 aircraft to over 186 operators based in 90 countries. ATR planes have totaled over 21 million flight hours. ATR is an equal partnership between two major European aeronautics players, Alenia Aermacchi (a Finmeccanica Group company) and EADS. Its head office is in Toulouse (France). ATR is ISO 14001-certified, the international reference standard in the field for environmental friendliness.

Contributed by ATR