Page 54 - World Airnews Magazine January 2021 Edition

MROS

FIVE CHALLENGES AHEAD

ENGINE BUSINESS health requirements, such as new air filter
With shop visits ranging from (US) $3 systems or antibacterial surfaces. But those
The COVID-19 pandemic has consid- million to (US) $10 million depending on the are still under development and it might
erably lowered demand in air transport aircraft, engine overhaul services will still take years for airlines to see them as a
and thus reduced the number of flights. represent a sizable market. However, visits priority without governmental pressure.
Fewer planes flying also means fewer dropped by half throughout 2020.
maintenance needs. In this context, all As a way to save cash, airlines unground- RETAINING THE EXPERTISE
actors of the MRO industry have seen their ed aircraft with the newest engines in Once aircraft will take back to the skies,
business impacted. But is the situation as order to avoid costly overhauls. With an the surge in MRO demand for post-storage
abundance of engines available on stored
dark as it is painted? aircraft, swaps will be preferred over services could lead to a shortage of staff.
During the pandemic, some technicians
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the MRO repairs. reconverted to less affected parts of the
market was expected to represent a global Similarly to airframe maintenance, the business.
market of (US) $87 billion. That number engine business will be affected in the Prior to the crisis, in 2018, Boeing
was initially expected to be reduced by half, long-run by the early retirement of old estimated that the aviation industry would
with a forecast of (US) $42.7 billion in May aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and the need 754,000 new aircraft technicians in
2020. The industry now foresees all MRO Boeing 747, whose engines represented a the coming two decades. While it might
spending to represent a global (US) $35 significant part of maintenance expenses take some time to see such a demand
billion. But the industry is not monolithic for carriers. again, MRO providers should still find ways
and some sectors are more affected than to keep experienced technicians.
others. USM SERVICES
AIRFRAME MAINTENANCE Compared to other MRO services, the A WAY FORWARD?
In order to alleviate the impact of
used serviceable material (USM) business
Even with the prospect of a rebound, some might keep its head out of the water if the low-demand in the air transport industry,
MRO businesses could be impacted in the recovery is not long in coming. the MRO businesses may have to follow the
long term. The component repair sector Valued at almost (US) $5 billion in 2019, example of carriers by finding alternative
should struggle as airlines will not fly at the availability of spare engines and revenue or expanding the scope of their
full capacity before long, and are currently airframes could see revenue plateauing for services (for example to cargo or military
consuming their in-house inventories or the 2020. Once demand picks up again, carriers markets.)
used parts from aircraft they decommis- will be more than willing to use USM While the consequences of the pandemic
sioned amid the crisis. services instead of OEM parts. However, were dramatic for the industry, they also
In general, the maintenance sector is the recovery might not be uniform. While offer a time for consolidation and innova-
tion. Technologies such as digital twins,
driven by aircraft older than 10 years. demand for engine parts should pick up real-time monitoring of aircraft condition,
But low demand forced carriers to retire quickly, it could take a bit longer for other and predictive maintenance, could be a
some of their aircraft and, quite logically, airframe components to meet previous lever for service providers to cope with the
prioritized their oldest planes. Even if demand levels. reduced MRO budget of airlines.
those aging aircraft were to be replaced Digitalization could also play an
by newer ones, it will take years for heavy MODIFICATION AND CONVERSION important role in improving service
maintenance cycles to come back to Seen as a lifeline during the crisis, aircraft efficiency: paper-free processes, where all
previous levels. conversion to help carriers find ancillary the functions to manage tasks and oversee
MRO providers might find a brief relief revenue (with the emergence of the progress from a tablet could reduce lead-
with the decision of some carriers to defer “preighter” concept for example) is only time from aircraft maintenance services.
or cancel orders, meaning that older, and temporary. However, such innovation would require
thus more maintenance-needy planes, More permanent modifications could changes not only in the industry culture but
could operate a bit longer. appear on the market down the line due to also from safety regulators. Q

World Airnews | January Extra 2020
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