Ryanair 2011 Annual Report Download - page 64

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Maintenance and repair services that may become necessary while an aircraft is located at some of the
other airports served by Ryanair are provided by other Part 145-approved contract maintenance providers.
Aircraft return each evening to Ryanair’s bases, where they are examined by Ryanair’s approved engineers or,
in the case of Brussels (Charleroi), Stockholm (Skvasta), Rome (Ciampino), Frankfurt (Hahn), Milan
(Bergamo), Barcelona (Girona), Madrid, Alicante, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Kaunas, Bristol, Brindisi, Bari, Bremen,
Kaunas, Pescara, Trapini, Bologna and Cagliari, by local Part 145-approved companies.
Heavy Maintenance
As noted above, Ryanair currently has sufficient capacity to be able to carry out all of the routine
maintenance work required on its Boeing 737-800 fleet itself. However, Ryanair occasionally contracts with
outside maintenance providers for some heavy maintenance services that it cannot accommodate in its own
facilities. In particular, Ryanair enters into short-term, ad hoc contracts with reputable Part 145-approved
suppliers of heavy maintenance in the U.K. and Europe, such as ATC Lasham, for the carrying-out of the heavy
maintenance overhauls currently required on its relatively new fleet.
Ryanair opened a new three-bay maintenance hangar at Glasgow (Prestwick) airport in winter 2010 to
accommodate the additional maintenance requirements arising from its expanding and aging fleet.
Ryanair contracts out engine overhaul service for its Boeing 737-800 aircraft to General Electric
Engine Services pursuant to a 10-year agreement with an option for a 10-year extension, signed in 2004. This
comprehensive maintenance contract provides for the repair and overhaul of the CFM56-7 series engines fitted
to the first 155 of Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the repair of parts and general technical support for the
fleet of engines. On June 30, 2008, the Company finalized a contract for a similar level of coverage and support
for the engines on all of its aircraft that have been or are scheduled to be delivered as well as any option aircraft
delivered pursuant to the Company’s current contracts with Boeing over the period through November 2012.
Due to the fact that engines on recently delivered aircraft will not require a scheduled engine overhaul prior to
the expiry of the current contract with GE, Ryanair has decided at this time not to take up its option to have
engines delivered with aircraft after October 2010 covered by this contract. General Electric Engine Services
mainly uses its Part 145-approved repair facility in Cardiff, Wales for this work, but also uses the KLM Part
145-approved facility in Amsterdam, and occasionally its Part 145-approved facility in Celma, Brazil. By
contracting with experienced Part 145-approved maintenance providers, management believes it is better able to
ensure the quality of its aircraft and engine maintenance. Ryanair assigns a Part 145-certified mechanic to
oversee all heavy maintenance and to authorize all engine overhauls performed by third parties. Maintenance
providers are also monitored closely by the national authorities under EASA and national regulations.
Ryanair expects to be dependent on external service contractors, particularly for engine and component
maintenance, for the foreseeable future, notwithstanding the additional capabilities provided by its maintenance
facilities at Glasgow (Prestwick), London (Stansted) and Frankfurt (Hahn). See “Item 3. Key Information—Risk
Factors—Risks Related to the Company—The Company Is Dependent on External Service Providers.”