The crash of an Indian Navy trainer and lackluster attendance cast a pall over what attendees might otherwise have remembered as a commercially productive India Aviation 2010 airshow, held March 3 to 7 in Hyderabad. In fact, the show provided a stage for a series of important commercial developments, led by the
opening of a new CFM56 Training Center in the host city. The new Hyderabad complex–the fourth of its kind for CFM56 customers–holds the capacity to train 500 engineers annually. CFM said it expects to invest $15 million in the new center over the next decade.
More engine-related investment came in the form of a GE Branded Services Agreement (GBSA) between GE Aviation and Air India, under which the U.S. company has agreed to support the flag carrier’s plans to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the GEnx-1B engine. Under the terms of the GBSA, Air India will gain a license to perform maintenance and overhaul work on the new engine while GE Aviation helps the airline with such items as overhaul workscoping, material support and training. Air India holds a firm order for 27
GEnx-1B-powered Boeing 787s.
Meanwhile, the promise of further aerospace infrastructure development in the subcontinent came as Bombardier announced plans at the show to open a regional support office in Mumbai. Scheduled to open by July 31, the new office will align the company’s existing commercial and business aircraft support services based in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai at the same location. Plans call for the office to employ a staff of as many as 12 people, including account managers, field-service representatives and regional managers, by the end of the year.