The narrowbody airframe MRO market continues to show signs of recovery from the worst points of the economic downturn, when even relatively young aircraft were parked to defray operational expenses and defer maintenance costs. The narrowbody airframe MRO market value grew slightly less in 2011 (which exhibited a rate of 0.6%) than it did in 2010, when market value increased by 1.4%. However, it continues the generally positive reversal from the same 12-month period in 2009–10, when the market value for narrowbody airframe MRO services contracted by 12.6%.
Miguel Uribe, CEO, AeroMexico MRO We have announced a joint venture with Delta regarding MRO business. This JV will allow significant growth while maintaining the high quality airframe work that Aeromexico MRO is providing to its major clients: Delta for MD-80s, AeroMexico for Boeing 737s and AeroMexico Connect's Embraer ERJ-145.
In 2012, the best and brightest technology for the MRO sector will surely relate to making data simpler and more mobile. Although some companies already have started to see how tablets, digital records and augmented reality can help them smooth their workflow, most maintenance operations are still behind the times when it comes to sharing data digitally. The best part about this trend is that most of these emerging tools will be available in the very near future. We expect these 10 technologies to be game-changers for MRO in 2012 and beyond.
Narrowbody airframe MRO accounts just over $25 million, or 54% of the total airframe MRO market that is worth an estimated $8.8 billion, based on TeamSAI November 2011 figures. And airframe services make up about 19% of all MRO work on narrowbody aircraft.
Engine maintenance, repair and overhaul will outpace the total commercial aviation MRO market growth this year, largely because engine events are more expensive. The main driver is “engine parts [that] continue to get marked up at a rate exceeding CPI on an annual basis, often in the 5-7% range in terms of annual increases,” says David Marcontell, TeamSAI president and COO. Material expenses represent 70-80% of total engine MRO costs, so this obviously impacts the engine aftermarket value.
Eliminating duplicated maintenance required by different regulatory agencies could take out billions of dollars of maintenance and engineering work on leased aircraft when they transfer across borders. Given that 40% of the world's commercial aircraft fleet is leased, and that figure continues to climb, these costs if not corrected will grow with the expanding fleet.
Navigating the MRO market will be easier to understand by knowing what changes are coming. Narrowbody aircraft will dominate airframe checks—especially the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800—and their landing gear will require the most overhauls. In the twin-aisle market, Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s will lead maintenance demand. While the GE CF34-8, CFMI CFM56-7B and IAE V2500 will propel the most growth over the next few years, the Pratt & Whitney PW100 still holds a top spot in overhauls events.
The availability of instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) has pitted manufacturers against repair stations for years. Repair stations have pushed for greater access to ICAs, while manufacturers have carefully guarded what they deem to be proprietary information that they developed at great cost.
Are your employees engaged? No, this isn't a question about marital status, it's a question about workplace commitment. It's about whether your employees are active, enthusiastic, contributing members of a team. If you suspect they aren't, this is an area worth your attention. Research by Gallup finds that businesses in the top quartile of their employee engagement studies experience 49% fewer safety incidents than bottom quartile organizations. In other words, by honing in on some key engagement criteria, organizations can potentially slice their incident rate in half.
Forrest Gump once quipped “Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get.” The same can be said for the business of repairing aircraft on ground, or AOG. When the phone rings, AOG professionals never know what kind of repair they're going to get or where they're going to go—or whether customs will even let them into the country.
Mubadala Aerospace has formed a new senior leadership team to manage its MRO companies, Zurich-based SR Technics and Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). The United Arab Emirates-based company says it will use the new executive team to create synergies between the two MROs. However, both SR Technics and ADAT will remain separate legal entities. The new leadership appointments are Homaid Al Shemmari, chairman of the MRO network; Jeremy Chan executive vice chairman; and James Stewart group CEO.
Super98 issued STC to installation of modifications to improve the airplane cruise performance of Boeing DC-9-81 (MD-81), DC-9-82 (MD-82), DC-9-83 (MD-83), DC-9-87 (MD-87) and MD-88 aircraft, STC ST02372LA
Emirates signed a 12-yr. OnPoint services contract with GE Aviation for maintenance and inventory support. The deal covers Boeing 777 avionics, electrical power and mechanical products on Emirates' current fleet and firm orders, for a total of 135 777s.
Kelowna Flightcraft operates heavy maintenance facilities in Kelowna, B.C., Canada and Hamilton, Ont., Canada. Kelowna is a preferred vendor for Aviation Partners Boeing winglets and undertook the task of installing the prototype winglets for the Boeing 757-300. Overall, Kelowna has installed more than 70 sets of both Aviation Partners and Quiet Wing winglets and specializes in installing winglets on both provisioned and non-provisioned aircraft.
For months the Transportation Security Administration's final rulemaking to impose new security rules for repair stations in the U.S. and abroad has appeared imminent. TSA issued the notice of proposed rulemaking in 2009 for new security requirements, including a mandate for all repair stations to have security programs in place.
StandardAero announced that it has appointed Jeffrey Wood as senior VP of its airlines and fleet business, which is the largest of the company's six business sectors. Wood will take over for interim leader Jennifer McNeill, who is returning to her former role as VP sales, marketing and business development for airlines and fleets. Airframes
Timco Aerosystems opened its new 120,000 sq. ft. aircraft interiors manufacturing facility in Wallburg, N.C. in November. The facility will add capacity to Timco's manufacturing operations in Pacoima, Calif., including assembly of its FeatherWeight seats. Training
Whether the radome conventionally has a honeycomb or foam core, testing for moisture ingress involves the use of either a thermal imaging system or a moisture meter. Thermal imaging requires the radome to be heated to detect moisture. In contrast, technicians simply hold a moisture meter that relies on eddy currents against the radome to detect moisture—making it the more common method.
Turkish Technic has signed a landing gear maintenance services agreement for five Airbus A320 family aircraft with IzAir. The work, which includes landing gear removal and installation as well as overhaul activities, will be carried out at Turkish Technic's Istanbul facility. It plans to complete the overhaul of five sets of landing gear in June 2013. IT
Ametek Ameron (dba Mass Systems) reissued STCs to replace Kidde fire extinguisher and Pacific Scientific fire extinguisher cartridges in fire extinguisher bottles on various transport category aircraft, including ATR, Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, Eurocopter, Fokker, Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas and Saab aircraft, STCs ST00952LA and ST00885LA
Sabena Technics has signed a three-year agreement with ULS Airlines Cargo for component repair on its fleet of three Airbus A300-B4 and three Airbus A310-300 aircraft. Both companies have collaborated on repair management for some years.
