Iberia wins exclusive contract

Iberia Maintenance will handle major inspections (C and D checks) for Northern Europe's largest airline.

Iberia and SAS Scandinavian Airlines have reached an agreement whereby Iberia will carry out major maintenance operations (C and D checks) of the MD80s and Airbus A330s and A340s operated by the Scandinavian airline. The new contract is exclusive and has an initial term of two years, renewable to five.

Over the next year Iberia Maintenance will undertake inspections of MD80s and the two types of Airbus. It is a major contract for Iberia Maintenance, because it comes from one of Europe's largest airlines.

José Luis Ruiz de Castañeda, general manager of Iberia Maintenance, noted that his firm "won this contract against strong competition -the quality and seriousness of our bid were decisive in winning SAS' business".

SAS, already one of Iberia Maintenance's 100-plus outside clients, becomes one of the most important ones thanks to this new contract.

The C check, which is carried out every 18 months on long-haul aircraft and every 20 months on medium-and short-haul craft, consists of an exhaustive inspection of an aircraft's structures, systems and interior and exterior zones, which involves the disassembly of brakes, wheels, and parts of the engines and wings, as well as inspection of the structure, fuel tanks, and other components.

The D check is the most complete, and is carried out every six years. It involves a deep inspection of the aircraft, and includes the removal of the engines for a thorough check and the inspection of landing gear and control surfaces -rudders, ailerons, and flaps. It ends with ground tests and sometimes a test flight. The D check normally takes about a month to complete.