Lufthansa Technik has signed a multi-year agreement to provide total component support for Air India's fleet of Boeing 777s. The company says that the deal covers MRO of aircraft components and provides Air India with access to its global component pool and logistics services. The agreement is effective from July 2024. "We would like to thank Air India for their trust and for awarding Lufthansa Technik to provide comprehensive Total Component Support," says Dennis Kohr, senior vice president corporate sales Asia Pacific at LHT. "As the airline continues on its growth path in the next years, we look forward to supporting them with our services and eagerly anticipate expanding our new partnership further." Fleets data shows that Air India has 20 777-300ERs and eight -200LRs in its fleet, plus another -300ER in storage. LHT adds that it also provides 787 component services for Vistara, and engine maintenance services for Air India Express.

AirAsia Malaysia will commence thrice-weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, starting 3 September. This marks AirAsia Group's 21st direct route between the two countries, it says. AirAsia will be the sole carrier operating flights on the route, Cirium Diio schedules show. AirAsia Malaysia currently flies to 13 destinations in Indonesia including from Kuala Lumpur to Kertajati, Banda Aceh, Jakarta, Bali Denpasar, Medan, Padang, Pekanbaru, Makassar, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Balikpapan; as well as from Penang to Jakarta and Medan. AirAsia Indonesia offers services to 11 destinations in Malaysia from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching; from Bali to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu; from Medan to Kuala Lumpur and Penang; from Lombok to Kuala Lumpur; as well as from Surabaya to Johor Bahru.

International Aero Engines has completed a test run of a V2500 engine on pure sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The ground test was conducted at an MTU Aero Engine MRO facility in Hannover and is the ninth engine that Pratt & Whitney has tested running on 100% SAF. The particular SAF used has reclaimed fats as its feedstock. “This test demonstrates to our customers who are invested in the lifecycle of the V2500 that this engine continues to play a part in IAE’s sustainability strategy,” says Brandon Naples, associate director of V2500 business strategy at P&W.
The engine manufacturer has previously tested its GTS Advantage engine on pure SAF, as well as three auxiliary power units. IAE is a consortium between P&W, Japan Aero Engines and MTU Aero Engines. V2500s are one of the engine options for the Airbus A320ceo family, and power the Embraer C-390 Millenium military transport. Fleets data shows that there are over 2,600 aircraft powered by the engines in service globally.