SAS Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) is set to deepen its collaboration with Lufthansa Technik Malta under a new multi-year agreement focused on base maintenance for its Airbus A350 fleet. Starting in 2026, these layovers will be carried out at the group's European Centre of Excellence in Malta, for wide-body aircraft overhauls.
This expanded partnership follows a successful A350-900 base maintenance event completed by Lufthansa Technik Malta in May 2024. Encouraged by this outcome, SAS has chosen to entrust further maintenance of its A350 aircraft to the facility, recognising its proven expertise in servicing the latest generation of long-haul aircraft.
The new contract includes comprehensive two-, four- and six-year checks for the A350 model, which has served as the flagship of SAS' long-haul fleet since 2019. These aircraft typically operate routes connecting the airline's main hub at Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport in Denmark with key destinations across North America and Asia. SAS currently operates a fleet of four Airbus A350s.
SAS and Lufthansa Technik already enjoy a long-standing business relationship, which includes a wide range of services such as an aircraft production inspection programme (APIP) for the airline's A320neo fleet, total component support (TCS), and engineering support (Part-21) for its entire fleet. The TCS programme will also help streamline the supply of components during the upcoming A350 layovers in Malta.
In addition, the newly signed base maintenance agreement provides a certain degree of flexibility, allowing for supplementary services such as aircraft modifications to be carried out during the scheduled maintenance events.