Korean Air announced on the 2nd that it is officially entering the Southeast Asian aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) market in partnership with Thai state-owned aviation maintenance specialist TAI (Thai Aviation Industries).
On this afternoon, Korean Air and TAI signed a Memorandum of Agreement (TA) for comprehensive cooperation on MRO business at the Korean Air Tech Center in Gangseo-gu, Busan. Key executives from both companies attended, including Cho Hyun-cheol, head of Korean Air's Military Aircraft Division, and Phipun Worawannapricha, CEO of TAI.
The two companies will first cooperate on major overhaul work for the UH-60 "Black Hawk," the main helicopter used by the Royal Thai Army, and plan to expand their cooperation scope to include various other military aircraft operated by the Thai military. In this process, Korean Air will support TAI in standardizing military aircraft maintenance processes and providing technical training.
TAI is a state-owned aviation maintenance specialist in Thailand responsible for overseeing the maintenance of all air assets operated by the Royal Thai Army. The two companies expect that combining Korean Air's world-class military aircraft maintenance technology with TAI's unique maintenance network and infrastructure within Thailand will significantly enhance the operational readiness of Thai military air assets. Building on this foundation, they plan to expand into the Southeast Asian aviation MRO market.
Korean Air possesses unique experience accumulated over more than 50 years, having performed major overhaul and performance upgrades on over 5,500 military aircraft. In particular, for the UH-60 helicopter, production began in 1991 at Korean Air's Aerospace Division, which has been responsible for its maintenance to date. Recognized for its technical expertise and know-how, the company recently secured a contract for performance upgrade work.
A Korean Air official stated, "This cooperation will serve as an important opportunity to disseminate the excellence of our proprietary K-MRO across Southeast Asia and enable both companies to grow together in the Southeast Asian aviation MRO market."
in INDUSTRY
