Korean Air said Friday that it has joined Pratt & Whitney’s engine maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, network to enhance its competitiveness in the field of aviation engine management.

US aerospace company Pratt & Whitney is the producer of a high-bypass geared turbofan engine family called the Geared Turbofan, or GTF, and operates a global GTF engine MRO network with the industry’s top players such as Delta TechOps, Lufthansa Technik, and MTU Aero Engines.

The A320neo aircraft that Korean Air will be implementing is also equipped with a GTF engine, PW1100G-JM.

In joining the network, Korean Air will be supplied with advanced engine maintenance technology and supplies.

It will be able to dissemble, assemble and test capability of the PW1100G-JM engine on its own.

Korean Air is the only domestic private airline to have its own engine maintenance facility since 1976, when it started working on Boeing 707 aircraft engines, and it has since worked on around 4,600 engines of its own aircrafts.

With this contract, Korean Air plans to expand its presence in the global MRO market while reducing related domestic dependence on foreign companies.

“We are excited to be joining the trusted network of GTF MRO service providers. Since 2018, we have been flying GTF-powered A220 aircraft, with ten currently in our fleet. We are looking forward to next year, in which we expect to take delivery of our first GTF-powered A321neo aircraft,” said Lee Soo-keun, executive vice president and chief operations officer at Korean Air.