In partnership with China Aviation Supplies Corporation (CASC) in Beijing, AJW Aviation has signed a six-year contract to provide power-by-the-hour (PBH) support to Qingdao Airlines’ fleet of A320 aircraft.

Established by the Nashan Group, the Qingdao Municipal Government and Shandong Airlines, Qingdao Airlines launched operations earlier this year providing domestic services to destinations across China. The airline has announced future orders for a total of 23 A320 family aircraft, including five A320ceos and 18 A320neos, with the first delivery expected in 2018, and the fleet growing to over 50 aircraft in the next six years.

This is the first co-operative project between AJW and CASC. Qingdao Airlines acknowledged the important contribution that AJW and CASC are making to its operational efficiency at an official banquet in Qingdao last month, noting the 24/7 AOG and critical response support backed up by locally sited inventories of A320 spares which together are reinforcing the cost-efficient solutions.

Start-up operator, Qingdao Airlines, is focused on the rapid growth of the Chinese air transportation market. It is estimated that between 450 million to 500 million passenger trips will be made annually in China by 2015 and this represents over 100 per cent increase since 2009.