Royal Brunei spins off engineering unit

Royal Brunei spins off engineering unit

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Royal Brunei Airlines' board of directors has agreed to spin off its engineering unit as an independent business, the airline said on Tuesday.

The new entity, called Royal Brunei Engineering, will formally start operations on April 1 to compete with regional rivals for a share of the US$30 billion global market for aircraft maintenance and repairs.

The spin-off is expected to allow Royal Brunei Airlines to reduce costs without retrenching any of its engineering staff.

Royal Brunei Airlines is the national carrier of the small oil rich southeast Asian country. It carried some 1.16 million passengers in fiscal 2003/4.-- AFP