GE Aerospace has announced a 10-year services agreement with Hainan Airlines for systems support across its Boeing 787 fleet.

The agreement includes GE Aerospace's avionics systems content and capabilities.

American-based GE Aerospace is a world-leading provider of aircraft engines and has one of its largest sites outside the US in Cheltenham,  with more than 1,600 employees.

The Bishops Cleeve site is focused on the design, development and manufacture of state-of-the-art aircraft power distribution and avionics systems for the global aviation industry and is a major contributor to the local economy.

The new agreement signed by GE Aerospace covers its B787 content, including the open architecture core computing and networking system in support of Hainan Airlines' fleet of 38 aircraft.

Building on the airline's minimal B787 parts inventory, GE Aerospace will provide availability from its pool of B787 components to Hainan Airlines' headquarters in Haikou and its outstations.

The program will cover repairs, stock holding, inventory management, program management, configuration control, engineering change control, technical documentation, obsolescence management, and reliability trend analysis.

GE Aerospace will provide the support from Singapore and its new facility in Brisbane, Australia.

Long Chen, vice manager of spares procurement center of purchasing department, Hainan Airlines Holding Co Ltd, said: " We look forward to close collaboration with GE Aerospace and making the B787 contract an example program that demonstrates the cooperation between Hainan Airlines and GE."

Matt Burns, general manager for avionics with GE Aerospace, said: "This agreement is a flexible services program designed to reduce operator costs and maximize aircraft availability.

"We will provide Hainan with the services solutions that best fit their needs so they can focus on the business of operating and sustaining a rapidly growing global airline."