| WOOD DALE, Illinois, November 17, 2016 | – AAR (NYSE: AIR), a global leader in the aviation aftermarket, has entered into a long-term contract with Air New Zealand to provide nose-to-tail, cost-per-flight-hour rotable inventory support covering 740 parts and 15 of the airline’s B777 aircraft. Under reciprocal terms of the agreement, Air New Zealand will become AAR’s exclusive component repair provider for selected parts in the Asia-Pacific region and preferred supplier for selected parts worldwide.
This significant contract establishes a component inventory and repair partnership for AAR in the growing Asia-Pacific region with an AAA-rated carrier. It also marks AAR’s first PBH agreement solely focused on the B777 aircraft, the flagship carrier and international workhorse connecting New Zealand to the rest of the world.
“This partnership complements AAR’s in-house component repair facilities in the U.S. and Europe and extends our reach in the fast-growing Australasia region,” said Deepak Sharma, President, AAR International Supply Chain. “We’re proud to team up with an industry-leading long-distance carrier like Air New Zealand to help them create efficiencies with an integrated supply chain solution for their B777 fleet. This is the beginning of a win-winpartnership that we hope will extend to other projects in the region and beyond.”
Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer Bruce Parton says the deal follows extensive market evaluation and is significant for the airline’s Components business. “We are looking forward to working with a fast-growing partner in AAR that will help to drive a high volume of work and further the commercial success of Air New Zealand’s components business.”