Saudia Group Wants Air India & IndiGo to Utilize Upcoming MRO Facility

Saudia Group, the parent company of Saudi Arabian Airlines, Flyadeal, and Saudia Cargo is all set to play a bigger game in the MRO business. In 2025, the group will operationalize a mega MRO facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

It is luring Indian carriers to carry out their maintenance activities at this mega MRO facility whenever it is ready.

MRO Activities: Saudia Group Luring Indian Carriers

At the CAPA India Aviation Summit, the spokesperson from Saudia Group Abdullah M. Alshahrani talked about the group’s upcoming mega MRO facility in Jeddah. This facility will be spread across 1 million square meters. It has an immense size that it has been named “Saudia Technic’s MRO Village”. This mega MRO is expected to be operational in 2025.

Once it is up and running, it will be the largest facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Abdullah said that the group wants Indian carriers like Air India and IndiGo to carry out their maintenance operations at this facility. Saudia has already approached TATA Group for the same. He added that Indian carriers are currently using European MROs. Saudia Group wants to be considered for these airlines’ maintenance activities. Soon, a delegation will approach IndiGo to pitch this MRO village.

This one million square meter spread MRO facility will have multiple hangars and component shops. Along with aircraft, there will be facilities for engine repair and maintenance.

Airbus is expected to authorize this facility for the maintenance of Airbus A320 family jets. Along with this, it will become the center for maintenance of Boeing 787s. This portfolio aligns with the fleet of Indian carriers. IndiGo and Air India both operate the Airbus A320, while Air India & Vistara have a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Will Indian Carriers Consider?

It will be interesting to see if any airline considers this offer. For your information, IndiGo already has two MRO facilities in India, one in Delhi and the other in Bengaluru. Air India is currently undertaking engineering services from AIESL. Once the contract ends, the airline will shift to its own in-house engineering and maintenance unit. It has partnered with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) and SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) to establish its own MRO facility at Bengaluru Airport.

Furthermore, India has various third-party MRO service providers like AAR-Indamer, Air Works, etc. If AIESL is privatized and handed over to a suitable player, it can break the chain to become one of the best MRO service providers in Asia.

One more point which I don’t know if the spokesperson forgot about. The majority of the aircraft in the Indian aviation market are leased by European lessors. In a sale and leaseback agreement, the lessor is responsible for periodic heavy checks. So, it is not in the hands of the airline to choose the spot of maintenance. It is the lessor, who decides it. Normal activities can be conducted at the facilities in Delhi and Bengaluru.

Saudia Wants to Increase India Flights

For the Saudia Group, India has always remained an important market. In the upcoming year, the second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Air will start operations. The Kingdom wants to increase its offerings in the Indian market. As of now, it is operating 54 times a week in India.

Riyadh Air will also have many Indian cities in its network. The Riyadh-based airline has already placed a Boeing 787 Dreamliner order and is now eyeing a narrowbody order.

According to Alshahrani, one-fourth of the passengers traveling from India to Saudi Arabia use a stopover in their journey. Saudia Group wants to minimize this number so that passengers can travel nonstop between both markets. Abdullah said that in this case, both Indian and Saudi Arabian carriers should come together and make sure that this third-country traffic leakage is minimized.

Conclusion: Saudia Group Pitches MRO to Indian Carriers

In December 2023, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia decided to invest in Saudia Technic, an MRO subsidiary of Saudia Group. The one million square meter MRO village will be operational by next year. Airbus will be authorizing the facility for Airbus A320 maintenance. It is expected to become the center for Boeing 787 MRO activities. Saudia Group wants to reduce the traffic leakage between India and Saudi Arabia.

According to you, will Indian carriers consider this offer from Saudia Group? Discuss in the comment section.