With a growing market and older engines requiring more maintenance, a corresponding rise in demand for MRO shop visits can also be anticipated. And with that, the need for high-quality engine stands for these aircraft engine types will also increase.
Commercial aeroplanes need maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services to ensure their continued safety, dependability, and profitability. MRO suppliers will be forced to become more cooperative, more open and more competitive as new businesses enter the aeroplane maintenance industry and as others improve or expand their value packages. These organizations need to be ready to step into new roles and increase their value by cooperating more closely with others if they want to position themselves for the future.
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The sophistication of aircraft increases with each subsequent generation. A significant decrease in maintenance requirements has been a result of this development. As a result, the specialised engineering maintenance needs of each aircraft will continue to decrease. In general, the mainstream scenario's MRO growth will be less than half as high as the traffic growth. In the event of high fuel prices, there might not be any increase in overall MRO activity.
There are numerous segments in aircraft MRO. The number of new businesses entering the aeroplane maintenance industry as well as the fact that current MROs are changing and expanding their roles serve as further evidence of the industry's appeal. Although the MRO industry's dynamics have been evolving for a while, the pace now seems to be quickening. The transformation is being driven by six forces:
Increased focus of OEMs on MRO: OEMs of aircraft and engines, including Boeing and Rolls-Royce, are increasing their attention on the maintenance market and beginning to provide "total care" solutions. OEMs are also in a unique position to take use of the ability of electronic monitors on aeroplanes to sense and respond to data, and maybe even take over the scheduling of aircraft maintenance.
Outsourcing MRO: Opportunities for new businesses to compete in the MRO field emerge when airlines outsource more maintenance work and concentrate on their core businesses. This increases competition, expands the possibility of enhancing service, and lowers prices. Cheap carriers are setting the standard for MRO outsourcing.
PMA parts: The FAA's Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) procedure allows non-OEM companies to reverse-engineer OEM parts at a high cost. Such PMA components are becoming more widely accepted, and their use is expanding quickly, intensifying the battle for spare parts.
Prognostics and Health Management (PHM): PHM makes it possible for aircraft maintenance to be proactive rather than reactive by tracking and evaluating a part or component's health in real-time, forecasting failure, and choosing the best course of action. PHM can aid in scheduling maintenance more effectively and shift who is in charge of the maintenance schedule. Modern aircraft have a chance to set the standard for PHM adoption. The 48 computers in the Airbus A340-500 monitor 13,000 different characteristics. More than half of the aircraft engines are under observation. More than 9,000 engines are monitored in flight by GE.
New technology trends: Due to the need for service providers to possess the necessary abilities to stay up with these advancements, several technological developments are further altering the MRO structure. For instance, compared to conventional engines, green engines are more fuel-efficient and emit fewer pollutants. They can lower the cost of ownership and need less maintenance. In addition, the material and design specifications for these engines force service providers to acquire new knowledge and abilities. Mechanical systems are increasingly being replaced by electronic ones. Companies will need more specialist skills for after-market service and repair as electronics systems become more complicated, which could expand OEM involvement in the service mix.
OEMs' primary responsibility is to create the initial aircraft or engine, but historically, their main involvement in aircraft maintenance has been to supply parts. As OEMs seek to increase their attention on aircraft support prospects and increase their involvement in the maintenance value chain, this is beginning to change. Their advantages include technical supremacy, negotiating leverage, and a special position from which they may provide packages of goods and services. They face competition from independent service providers that can provide a variety of services and/or comparable services for less money. Non-OEM replacement components (PMA parts), which have the potential to reduce OEMs' negotiating leverage, are another issue.
