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Airbus has entered exclusive negotiation with Air France-KLM Group to set up a joint venture for global A350 component maintenance by the first half of next year. The venture – envisioned as a 50:50 partnership – would offer supply-chain management, repair, and the establishment of a pool of components. Airbus says the proposal would combine its specialist capabilities with those of Air France and KLM’s engineering and maintenance arm. Component assets from both companies would be transferred to the pool. “We will be able to better respond to the needs of the market, and to guarantee the satisfaction of our customers over the long term, with support solutions that are always responsive, of high quality and at the right price,” says Air France-KLM Engineering & Maintenance executive vice-president Anne Brachet. Airbus says it would create an “optimised commercial offering”, with broader reach and greater capacity, to meet the long-term maintenance demands of the A350 fleet. There are 550 A350s in service, according to the airframer’s latest backlog figures, comprising 473 A350-900s and 77 of the larger -1000. “As the world’s A350 fleet grows, so does the necessary support,” says Airbus senior vice-president for customer services Cristina Aguilar. “Air France-KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Airbus have a long-standing relationship and pooling our complementary A350 component skills and capabilities will deliver an enhanced service.”<br/>

Garuda Indonesia will remain a stand-alone entity under the latest aviation merger plans under consideration in Jakarta. Late last week, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir told journalists that he intended to leave Garuda Indonesia alone and instead merge its low-cost subsidiary Citilink with Pelita Air. "Garuda is still alone. Citilink and Pelita (merged) because Garuda is already good, we are merging Citilink and Pelita," said the minister on August 31. Recently, ch-aviation reported that Thohir was examining a consolidation of the three carriers, with an eye on improving their operational and financial efficiencies. According to Jakarta-based media, Thohir wants each of the three airlines to stick to their target markets, with Garuda Indonesia focusing on premium passengers, Pelita Air targeting mid-market travellers, and Citilink chasing the low-cost market. "The three of them will be complementary, not cannibalizing each other," said Thohir. The minister said the plan, which remains subject to a review of each airline's financials, would see the state-owned owner of Pelita Air, oil and natural gas company PT Pertamina, take a stake in Citilink. However, he did not say how big any stake would be. Majority state-owned Garuda Indonesia currently owns 100% of Citilink, and the low-cost airline is widely considered the strongest performer in the Garuda Indonesia Group. Reflecting the importance of Citilink to Garuda's fortunes, shares in Garuda Indonesia fell over 6% in the wake of Thohir's comments.<br/>