Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has signed a strategic relationship agreement with Swiss AviationSoftware (Swiss-AS), enabling the airline and its equity partners to move to a common maintenance platform.

Swiss-AS will provide them with the required commercial and operating flexibility throughout their fleet as well as a software solution to Etihad Airways Partners including airberlin, Alitalia and Jet Airways, enabling each airline to now share technology more easily across the group.

Swiss-AS’ AMOS software is a leading maintenance solution on the global aviation market. It is a management information system which provides a fully-integrated approach across key business areas including maintenance control, engineering, financial management, quality assurance and human resources. More than 140 airlines around the world use AMOS, including Etihad Airways Partners airberlin, Alitalia, Air Serbia, Jet Airways and Etihad Regional, operated by Darwin Airline.

Etihad Airways chose the AMOS solution as it enables the airline to operate its e-enabled Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in accordance with regulatory requirements. Etihad Airways has five Airbus A380s and five Boeing 787 Dreamliners in its fleet of 120 aircraft. More than 200 additional aircraft are currently on order including 66 B787s and five A380s.

Richard Hill, Etihad Airways’ chief operations officer, said: “This strategic agreement means that we can benefit from significant business synergies across equity partners through a seamless, transparent, and fully-aligned system. Aircraft transfers and parts sharing processes will operate under a common platform and become more flexible and efficient as a direct result – a key element of our group-wide maintenance strategy.”

Robert Webb, Etihad Airways’ chief information and technology officer, said: “This agreement showcases our technology strategy of sharing common platforms and sustainable solutions to increase information sharing and promote better cooperation across Etihad Airways and our equity partners. Etihad Airways and Etihad Airways Engineering will benefit from these best practice initiatives, which are supported by an expert team that combines in-depth engineering knowledge with the latest technology skills.”

Ronald Schaeuffele, CEO of Swiss-AS, said: “Partnering with one of the most renowned and game-changing aviation groups is another big step forward in our long-term story of success.”

In addition, Etihad Airways plans to join forces with its equity partners to establish an AMOS Centre of Excellence which will optimise processes and platforms to boost efficiency, drive economies of skill and scale, and share best practices amongst the group. – TradeArabia News Service