Pratt & Whitney Eagle Services Asia will become the fourth engine overhaul center, and the first in the Asia-Pacific region, to have full MRO capabilities on the Engine Alliance GP7200s offered on the Airbus A380. Plans call for Eagle, the Singapore-based joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and SIA Engineering, to induct the first engine during the first quarter.

"The equipment is in place," Engine Alliance president Kevin Vicha said during a February 5 ceremony unveiling the new partnership. "They are ready to go."

A 50/50 joint venture between GE and P&W, Engine Alliance has turbofans on A380s operated by Air France, Etihad Airways, Korean Air, Emirates Airline, and Qatar Airways. The company hit a milestone in December when a Qatar A380 was delivered with the 600th GP7200 built.

Eagle already serves as a center of excellence for GP7200 low-pressure compressors. Its ramp-up of GP72000 work is part of a transition to keep the engine shop busy, as demand for work on its core product, the Pratt PW4000, declines as those engines steadily retire. Later this year, Eagle also will join Pratt's PW1000G geared turbofan network, becoming a specialist in the PW1100G-JM offered on the Airbus A320neo family.

Eagle was formed in 1998 as part of a joint venture with Pratt. The facility opened 35 years ago as SIA Engineering's engine overhaul division.