Air France-KLM buys 26% stake in Mumbai company

NEW DELHI: India's growing aviation market and huge aircraft orders from desi airlines are proving to be a big attraction for foreign carriers to invest here.

The Air France-KLM combine recently picked up a 26% stake in a Mumbai-based firm, Max Aerospace and will soon launch a maintenance, repair and overhaul ( MRO) facility for aircraft components in India.

The European giant, which has become one of the first international airlines to invest in a MRO here, has a simple business model for the MRO: Offer spare parts required by Indian carriers in the country itself without ordering them from abroad.

“The Indian market is growing very rapidly. Repairing or replacing aircraft components is a huge business opportunity. There are two cities (not Delhi or Mumbai) that have emerged as the options for locating this facility,” said Vincent Knoops, senior V-P at KLM. Before Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Technik was in talks with an Indian airport major to have an MRO in joint venture. But that deal did not click.

Indian carriers currently send their planes abroad for maintenance checks and also rely on overseas suppliers for their component requirement. “This process becomes very time-consuming. So if there are international players that can at least have a warehouse for spares in the country and offer them fast and at reasonable rates, it can be a win-win situation for them and us,” said a senior airline official.