Computer rendering of a Philippine Airlines aircraft in the sky. Credit: Airbus SAS / Fixion-MMS.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has signed an agreement with Airbus for the maintenance of its six A350-900 aircraft.

The Airbus Flight Hour Services (FHS) components maintenance contract is expected to support PAL’s current operations from the Philippines to New York, US, and serve other long-haul destinations to North America and Europe.

As part of the latest deal, Airbus will handle component services, repair, warehousing and transportation for PAL.

These services will be supported by Airbus FHS pools in Hong Kong. They are set to facilitate improved component engineering and will allow PAL to predict in-service issues.

“According to Airbus, its FHS solution includes fully integrated component services, as well as aircraft engineering and maintenance management services.”

The services are also expected to improve operations by reducing delays and help in simplifying troubleshooting.

PAL is scheduled to receive the first A350-900 aircraft to be maintained under the deal by July.

According to Airbus, its FHS solution includes fully integrated component services, as well as aircraft engineering and maintenance management services, which will support the highest levels of aircraft availability and dispatch performance.

The solution is designed to provide improved reliability to A350 XWB operators. It is powered by Airbus’ data platform Skywise, which uses a range of data hosting and analytics to optimise airline fleet use.

Skywise will leverage ‘big data’ technology to enhance levels of operational performance, compared with existing industry technology.

Earlier this month, Latvia-based airline Primera Air selected the Airbus Flight Hour Services Tailored Support Package (FHS-TSP) for its entire fleet of A321neo aircraft, including the A321LR.

The deal will be supported by Airbus FHS pools in London, UK, and Miami, US.