One of China's leading regional airlines and UTC Aerospace Systems extend the airline's A320 nacelle maintenance agreement

UTC Aerospace Systems' commitment to the growing Chinese aviation market was reaffirmed today when Sichuan Airlines announced it has chosen UTC Aerospace Systems' unit in China, Goodrich Aerostructures Service China Ltd. (GASCH) to provide nacelle asset support and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for the airline's fleet of Airbus A320ceo (current engine option) V2500-powered aircraft. This agreement is an extension of an existing Prime Solutions® support agreement. Prime Solutions is a flexible suite of nacelle maintenance services offered by UTC Aerospace Systems that can be tailored to meet each specific airline's needs. UTC Aerospace Systems is a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

The MRO support for Sichuan Airlines will be provided at the GASCH facility in Tianjin, China, which opened in 2009. The facility was purpose-built to provide MRO service to airlines throughout China.

"Sichuan Airlines' decision to extend its existing A320ceo Prime Solutions® support program serves as testimony to our continuous efforts to serve Sichuan and the China market. We're delighted to have the opportunity to demonstrate how we can use our in-country MRO facility located near our customers to provide a great level of flexible services to meet their needs," said Marc Duvall, President of UTC Aerospace System - Aerostructures. "As the original equipment manufacturer for both nacelle systems on the A320ceo - the International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500 engine and the CFM International CFM56-5B engine - we are well positioned to support our large installed customer base, both in China as well across the wider Asia-Pacific region."

Sichuan Airlines first started operations in 1988 with seven routes and has since grown into one of the leading regional airlines in China, serving over 160 different routes from its primary hub in Chengdu, China.