AIME/MRO – Stand by for MRO boom time in the region
The region's MRO industry could get a well-earned boost in the next few years according to leading forecasters at the Aviation Week run conference alongside this week's MRO Middle East conference held in Dubai.
Many have questioned a lack of MRO facilities and investment in the region compared to the massive orders made by the region’s major airlines.
But speaking at the conference Yen-Pu Paul Chen, Aviation Week’s director-forecasts and analytics, said that the very newness of the region’s fleet meant that many of the airlines had yet to undergo a heavy check.
Because the average fleet age will decline in the next 10 years, demand for MRO might only kick in with a “time lag,”, he said
Currently, Chen said, the average age of Middle East-based aircraft is declining from the current 10.8 years to 9.4 years, which already compares well to the rest of the world … but he said the share of the global MRO market will almost double from 3.5% to 6.1%, creating multiple opportunities. This equates to an annual growth of more than 8% annually – but much of this could be done in-house as airlines such as Emirates grows their own facilities and capabilities.