ST Engineering Lands CFM56, Leap 1A Contracts From Mideast Carriers

SINGAPORE—ST Engineering has secured two engine MRO contracts from two Middle Eastern airlines.

One contract is for CFM56-7B work while the other is for Leap 1A engines. The engine work will be carried out at ST Engineering’s Singapore-headquartered facilities in Asia under the multi-year deals. The company did not name the carriers, only referring to them as major Middle Eastern operators.

There are around 140 in-service aircraft flying with Leap 1A engines in the Middle East, primarily operated by Saudi Arabian LCC Flynas with 46 aircraft and Saudia’s LCC subsidiary Flyadeal with 25, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database. There are 101 Boeing 737s flying with the CFM56-7B engine among Middle East airlines; most are from UAE LCC flydubai with 28 aircraft.

“Our market presence in the Middle East has been growing in recent years, and our latest contracts with the two new Middle Eastern customers provide a strong foundation for collaboration with operators in this region,” ST Engineering head of engine services Tay Eng Guan said. “We look forward to building strong partnerships with them and delivering high-quality services that fully meet their operational needs.”

On Feb. 6, ST Engineering commercial aerospace said it had secured a total of S$1.8 billion ($1.33 billion) worth of contracts across its MRO and aerostructure segments in the fourth quarter of 2024. These included a 15-year exclusive contract from October 2024 with Akasa Air to support its Leap 1B engines; and a six-year airframe heavy maintenance contract to support an unnamed U.S. airline’s 787 fleet; and an exclusive five-year Leap 1A nacelle MRO agreement with an unnamed European airline.