Istanbul aircraft alliance

Pratt & Whitney and Turkish Airlines Technic (Turkish Technic), a Turkish Airlines company, have signed a joint venture agreement to build an aircraft engine overhaul centre in

.

The joint venture facility, to be named Pratt & Whitney Turkish Technic Aircraft Engine Maintenance Centre, will overhaul V2500 and CFM56 engines.

Construction will begin in early 2008 and the first engine is expected to be inducted in 2009.

Once fully operational, the centre is expected to overhaul up to 200 engines per year and will employ many of Turkish Technic’s staff.

‘We consider this joint venture initiative to be a success story by joining the expertise of Turkish Technic, a new, independent maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) company that has emerged from an experienced airline MRO centre, and Pratt & Whitney, an engine original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and an independent engine MRO,’ said Dr. Ismail Demir, general manager, Turkish Technic.

Turkish Technic is said to be the leading maintenance service organisation in its region, providing MRO services for Boeing and Airbus airframe, engine, auxiliary power units, landing gear and components. The company serves airlines in Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa, Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with its maintenance base in Istanbul and workforce of more than 3,000 personnel.