A CFM Leap engine test cell at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany.
Calgary, Alberta-based WestJet extended its maintenance relationship with Lufthansa Technik on Feb. 13 by signing a $3 billion, 15-year contract for CFM Leap 1B maintenance.
As part of the deal—WestJet’s largest non-aircraft purchasing contract—Lufthansa Technik will build an engine shop and test cell at Calgary International Airport, “right behind” WestJet’s campus, according to WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.
Groundbreaking for the 150,000-ft.2 facility should start in a few months and open in 2027. Its estimated cost is C$120 million ($84 million).
This will be the first Leap 1B test cell in Canada and one of just a few in North America, Lufthansa Technik CEO Soeren Stark said. The test cell will be capable of testing engines up to 60,000 lb. thrust (270 kN) and should be finished a few months after the repair shop opens, according to Lufthansa Technik.
The engine powers WestJet’s fleet of nearly 50 Boeing 737-8 aircraft, but “this number will grow to more than 130 based on the current orderbook we have,” von Hoensbroech said. But given that the engine MRO contract with LHT runs until the end of the next decade, “you may have some fantasy where this number may eventually go to,” he added.
WestJet’s total fleet today includes about 160 aircraft, including Boeing 737-700s, 737-800s, 787-9s and DeHavilland Canada Dash 8-400s, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database.
Lufthansa Technik, which is a CFM Premier MRO partner, will provide a range of engine services in Calgary—including quick-turn shop visits and on-wing services. Full Leap 1B overhauls will continue at its Hamburg, Germany, headquarters or at XEOS, its joint-venture facility with GE Aerospace in Wroclaw, Poland.
Von Hoensbroech said that having engine maintenance close to its operation should deliver “efficiency, cost certainty and repair turnaround times” for WestJet’s operation. Government officials also touted the decreased carbon footprint from keeping work local.
“Although we see a high demand in the North American market for Leap 1B maintenance and overhaul services, it must be honestly said that the contract with WestJet was certainly a decisive moment for our decision to set up an engine repair facility in Calgary, with a prospect of 160 new jobs in the first phase,” Stark said.
He also pointed to strong support from various Canadian government entities, Calgary’s well-educated workforce, stable political environment and “reliable infrastructure” as key factors in deciding to build the engine facility.
The facility has strong support from various Canadian government and local economic development entities that are investing C$180 million.
“When we drop anchor, we usually stay there for decades, and I would therefore venture to predict that what we have agreed on and will build up in the next three to four years will only be the beginning,” Stark said.
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