Gulf Air signs $100m maintenance deal with Rolls-Royce

The Bahraini national airline Gulf Air on Thursday hammered out a five-year maintenance agreement with Rolls-Royce. "We are happy to extend our agreement with Rolls-Royce thanks to the support offered by Totalcare over the past 14 years," Gulf air's Acting Chief Executive Officer, Maher Al Musallem, said in statements carried by the state news agency (BNA). "TotalCare allows and provides forward visibility of service costs, facilitating tighter fiscal control, increasingly important as Gulf Air transitions from a period of restructuring to one of development." The deal stipulates that Rolls-Royce will provide maintenance services to Gulf Air fleet of six A330 aircraft powered by Trent 700 engines. The agreement worth just over USD 100m extends the previous 5 year agreement that was signed in 2008. Andrew Harper, Rolls Royce, Vice President said: "We are pleased Gulf Air is extending TotalCare with us and continues to see value in our support services. We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with the airline." The relationship between Gulf Air and Rolls-Royce started in 1966, when the airline ordered a Dart-powered Fokker 27 aircraft and subsequently the RB211 engines for its Tristar Fleet. In 1999, Gulf Air operated its first A330 and today the airline operates a fleet of six A330s. The aircraft, which service Gulf Air's long-haul destinations in Europe and Asia, are integral to the airline's fleet.