Jo Hyun-chul, head of Korean Air’s Military Aircraft Division (right), and Piboon Worawanpricha, TAI’s representative (left), take a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony. [Provided by Korean Air] 사진 확대 Jo Hyun-chul, head of Korean Air’s Military Aircraft Division (right), and Piboon Worawanpricha, TAI’s representative (left), take a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony. [Provided by Korean Air]

Korean Air is stepping up its entry into Southeast Asia’s aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market by partnering with Thai Aviation Industries (TAI), Thailand’s state-owned aircraft maintenance specialist.

Korean Air and TAI signed an agreement on comprehensive aircraft MRO cooperation on the afternoon of the 2nd at Korean Air’s Tech Center in Gangseo-gu, Busan. The signing ceremony was attended by key officials from both companies, including Jo Hyun-chul, head of Korean Air’s Military Aircraft Division, and Piboon Worawanpricha, TAI’s representative.

The two companies first agreed to cooperate on depot-level maintenance for the Royal Thai Army’s main helicopter, the UH-60 Black Hawk. They plan to expand their cooperation to various military aircraft operated by the Thai military. Korean Air will also support TAI with the standardization of military aircraft maintenance processes and technical training.

TAI oversees the maintenance of Thailand’s military aviation assets. The two companies expect to significantly improve the operational readiness of the Thai military’s aircraft by combining Korean Air’s world-class military aircraft maintenance technology with TAI’s unrivaled maintenance network and infrastructure in Thailand. Building on this partnership, they aim to enter the aircraft MRO market across Southeast Asia.

Korean Air has unparalleled experience, having performed depot-level maintenance and capability enhancements on more than 5,500 military aircraft over the past 50 years. In particular, Korean Air’s Aerospace Division began producing UH-60 helicopters in 1991 and has handled their maintenance ever since. Recognized for its technical expertise and know-how, the company recently won a capability enhancement project for the helicopters.

A Korean Air official said, “This cooperation will be an important opportunity to showcase the excellence of Korean Air’s K-MRO across Southeast Asia and enable both companies to grow together in the region’s aircraft MRO market.”

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.

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Korean Air

Black Hawk

Military Aircraft Division

capability enhancement

commemorative photo

defense contractor

Thai

Aviation