Monarch to continue handling line maintenance on Aer Lingus fleet of Airbus A320 jetliners in contract extension

LONDON, 29 May 2012. Leaders of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) expert Monarch Aircraft Engineering Ltd. in London will continue handling line maintenance for Airbus A320 jetliners operated by Irish flag passenger air carrier Aer Lingus in Dublin, Ireland, under terms of an extension to a line maintenance technical handling agreement.

The agreement will see Monarch continue to provide line maintenance for Aer Lingus A320’s at the Monarch line stations at London's Gatwick Airport.

Aircraft line maintenance -- as opposed to base maintenance -- typically describes minor or scheduled maintenance on aircraft that are in service, or that are preparing for their first flights in service after being out of service.

Line maintenance also describes maintenance on en-route aircraft between flights, readying in-service an aircraft for flight, or maintenance to ensure that aircraft are airworthy and fit for flight.

Base maintenance typically refers to major maintenance, repair, and overhaul actions that require taking an aircraft out of service, such as for engine changes, overhauls, or major periodic required maintenance.

The Airbus twin-engine A320 single-aisle jetliner family is composed of the A318, A319, A320, and A321, and is used in a range of passenger aircraft services from very short-haul airline routes to intercontinental segments.

The A318 -- the smallest aircraft in the A320 family -- seats 100 passengers and has a range of about 1,750 miles; the A319 seats 124 passengers and has a range of 3,740 nautical miles; the A320 seats 150 and has a range of 3,300 nautical miles; and the A321 seats 185 passengers and has a range of 3,000 nautical miles.

The future Airbus A320neo -- short for new engine option -- will be part of the A320 family when the new aircraft enters service in 2015. Since Airbus introduced the A320neo in late 2010, some 1,420 orders and commitments had been logged. The A320neo will seat 150 to 180 passengers and have a maximum range of about 3,800 miles.

Monarch Aircraft Engineering -- a sister company to Monarch Airlines in London -- provides base maintenance, line maintenance, engineering and technical support, component and full material support, aircraft engine services, and technical training.

Monarch Aircraft Engineering handles A-checks to heavy C- and D-checks at the company's hangar facilities at London Luton and Manchester International Airports on Boeing 757, 767, Airbus A300-600, A300B4, A320 family, and A330, in addition to the Boeing 787.

The company handles line maintenance at facilities at London Gatwick, London Luton, Birmingham International, Manchester International, Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Kiev, Goa, and the Maldives airports on Boeing 737CG, 737NG, 757, 767, 777, Airbus A300-600, A300B4, A310, A320 family, and A330 aircraft.

Monarch Aircraft Engineering also provides technical records, short-, medium-, and long-term planning, schedule development, power plant management, reliability reporting, SB and AD review, and recommendation and consultancy services.

For more information contact Monarch Aircraft Engineering online at www.monarchaircraftengineering.com, or Airbus at www.airbus.com.