Lufthansa Technik (LHT) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Oman Air to create the maintenance specialist’s first joint venture in the Middle East, with plans for building a hangar at Muscat airport. Operations are expected to start in 2012, when the hangar will be able to accommodate two widebody and two narrowbody aircraft. Some 300 technicians are to work there.

The Germany-based MRO group will perform maintenance up to C checks on Airbus A330s and Boeing 737s, as well as Embraer and ATR models for Oman Air and others. Under a separate contract, LHT (Stand A220) will provide 15 C checks on Oman Air 737s starting in January.

For Qatar Airways, LHT is performing A340-600 cabin modifications at its Frankfurt workshops under a contract revealed here yesterday that covers four aircraft. Work has already begun and is pegged to be completed in January, after 5,000 man-hours of work.

At Doha International Airport, the MRO specialist is providing consulting services for the construction of a maintenance hangar. Qatar Airways plans to use it beginning in 2011. The contract was signed with the airport’s steering committee.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways has commissioned LHT to install new first-class cabins in nine Airbus A340s by end of 2010. Yemen-based Felix Airways has signed up for the maintenance of its CF34-3B/-8C engines for the next seven years. In Afghanistan, Safi Airways has added an A340-300 to a four-year agreement covering the MRO company’s Total component support and line maintenance up to A checks in Frankfurt.

LHT also announced the appointment of Ziad Al Hazmi, as its general manager for sales in the Gulf region beginning in January 2010.