KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 10): AirAsia’s maintenance arm, Asia Digital Engineering Sdn Bhd (ADE), has signed a deal to perform heavy maintenance checks on Air France’s Airbus A330 fleet.
The work will take place at ADE’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport facility, Malaysia’s largest maintenance hangar with 14 aircraft bays. These detailed checks, known as C and D checks, can keep aircraft grounded for several days or weeks.
The first Air France aircraft will arrive in October 2025, with one aircraft serviced every quarter until 2027, ADE chief executive officer Mahesh Kumar said at a press conference to announce the deal. ADE also operates two maintenance lines at Senai Airport in Johor.
Air France does not fly to Kuala Lumpur but operates services to nearby Singapore, enabling the collaboration.
ADE also signed a separate agreement with Air France’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit to expand component support for AirAsia’s A321neo fleet, adding to existing support for its A320neo and A330 aircraft.
Commenting on the deals, Mahesh said that beyond repairing components, there is "synergy in sharing tooling, expertise, and supply chain resources with Air France".
"Both airlines operate similar aircraft families, which strengthens collaboration,” Mahesh said.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who witnessed the signings earlier in the day, said in a statement the partnerships reaffirm Malaysia’s potential to be a regional MRO hub, supported by a growing aviation market projected to reach 801 million passengers in the Asia Pacific by 2027.
Since launching in 2020, ADE has completed over 180 heavy maintenance checks and is certified by both the EU and US aviation authorities.
The deals come as AirAsia transitions from Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) to AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) under a group restructuring. ADE will remain under Capital A post-restructure.
AirAsia is upgauging its fleet with A321neo and A321XLR jets in 2025 to boost capacity and reduce costs.