newstodate.aero

Jan 08, 2020 (newstodate): The Scandinavian carrier SAS has extended its aircraft maintenance contract with the Estonian  MRO provider Magnetic, based at Tallinn Airport.
   The new contract confirms that Magnetic will perform all base maintenance works on SAS' fleet of Airbus A320neo that will grow to a total of 56 from today's 25 aircraft to gradually replace the 51 Boeing 737NG aircraft in service until 2023.
   The original contract between two companies was signed in December 2017 and recently prolonged until 2023 to comprise  base maintenance work on all Airbus A320neo aircraft.
    From Autumn 2018 to Winter 2020, Magnetic MRO will perform a total of 23 heavy maintenance checks on SAS' Airbus A320Neo powered by Leap-1A engines.
   Since May 2018, Magnetic MRO is fully owned by the Chinese company Guangzhou Hangxin Aviation Technology.
   But according to agreements, Shenzhen Yongtai Trading Co., Limited, is authorized to take up to  13.44 percent in Magnetic MRO, and a Hong Kong-registered company Sapphire Investment Holding Limited is authorized to take up to 1.60 percent in Magnetic MRO, bringing Guangzhou Hangxin's stake down to 84.96 percent.
    Set up in 1991 and trading as Air Maintenance Estonia, the company was acquired by the Danish carrier Maersk Air in 2002 before being taken over by SAS in 2003.   
   SAS later sold its stake in the company in 2010 to a Baltic investment group, BaltCap, that divested of its entire stock in the company that was re-branded Magnetic from September 15, 2014.