Inside MRO

The liberalization of African skies is often presented as a panacea to the continent’s many aviation problems (as observed last week at the African Airlines Association’s general assembly in Zimbabwe).

Qantas’s engineering division has played a major role in the airline’s financial turnaround, reducing time aircraft spend on the ground.

Commenters on draft Advisory Circular 145-9 say it does not capture the industry’s increased regulatory complexity and technological sophistication.

At the end of 2026, the Latin American in-service engine fleet is expected to reach more than 5,700 engines.

Air Austral has added new aftermarket support coverage with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance for its Boeing 777s.

Engine Alliance GP7200 engines power 60% of the A380 fleet and will generate $4.2 billion in MRO spending over the next decade.

Boeing forecasts that more than 670,000 maintenance technician will be needed by 2035.

Aviation Week survey reveals intellectual property threats rank as the greatest for commercial aviation manufacturing and MRO.

With the influx of new aircraft, Icelandair has made significant changes to its maintenance operation in the past five years.

Tanzania-based Fastjet needs yet another injection of capital as it seeks to stabilize its business.

The aftermarket drives the cockpit window business, but passenger cabin windows may be replaced by screens.

Boeing’s appointment of former GE executive Kevin McAllister as its new CEO of Commercial Airplanes marks the latest and most decisive step in its aftermarket evolution.

Advanced Ceramic Coatings (ACC), a 50/50 joint venture between GE Aviation and Turbocoating, has confirmed it will build a new coating facility for aircraft engine components in Duncan, South Carolina.

Boeing’s plan to build a new facility for its GoldCare aftermarket offering at London Gatwick Airport in 2017 has undoubtedly given the UK’s aviation sector a boost with the potential creation of up to 100 new jobs.

It was revealed that Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Group had acquired $1.7 billion of shares in American Airlines, Delta and United, and that an investment in Southwest Airlines was also likely.

Avianca’s parent Synergy Group has made two moves this week which show that it is positioning itself as the only airline group with the ambition to be omnipresent throughout Latin America.

Greg Morris, strategy/growth leader for GE Additive, talked with Inside MRO about the company’s investments in additive manufacturing equipment.

Boeing will build a new aircraft maintenance hangar at London Gatwick Airport, servicing European airline customers of its GoldCare aftermarket services provision.

The futuristic credentials of predictive maintenance are often described by the ability of aircraft health monitoring systems to update ground teams of faults before a flight has even touched down.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Etihad Airways Engineering and Airbus was signed this week to develop a new maintenance service provision for the A380 in Abu Dhabi from 2017.

At the end of year 2026, the Eastern European in-service engine fleet is expected to reach over 4,214 engines.

The International Bureau of Aviation (IBA) surveyed the industry and found that airlines spend $1.65m, on average, on extra costs related to each narrowbody redelivery to lessors.

Following the debut of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) on CFM’s LEAP engine, other manufacturers are boosting research into the new material.

The Internet of Things has increased as a going concern in commercial aviation MRO, being used to track everything from aircraft health monitoring to components.

What MROs need to be proactive about finding future skills.