Strong aftermarket demand across the in-service widebody and narrowbody fleets will net MTU Aero Engines full-year growth at the top of its mid-year guidance, and executives see no signs of a near-term slowdown.
“[We] are not seeing any material changes in the airlines’ behavior,” CEO Johannes Bussmann said on the company's third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 29. “The aftermarket environment remains particularly strong. High fleet utilization, combined with low retirement on mature engine platforms, continue to drive demand for the maintenance services and support favorable market conditions across the MRO value chain.”
Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan (GTF) work continues to increase as the fleet grows and matures. It is also normalizing as Pratt's inspection program for contaminated powder metal (PM) parts, which has required unscheduled shop visits and related compensation for hundreds of engines since late 2023, moves closer to completion.
“Improved operational performance, better availability of powder metal parts, and additional shops in the network have contributed to a higher output of GTF engines from maintenance,” Bussmann said. The aircraft-on-ground (AOG) total linked to the PM issue, projected to average 350 per day through the end of 2026, has been “stable” in recent months, but is expected to drop through year-end.
MTU, a GTF risk-sharing partner, paid $170 million in PM-related compensation through the first nine months of the year.
“Good progress on compensations,” Bussmann said. “We expect the remaining powder-metal-related AOG compensation payments to be settled by the end of 2026.”
GTF work drove a 13% year-over-year increase in commercial MRO services in the third quarter, to €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion). The comparable nine-month figure was €5.2 billion, up 19% year over year. MTU is projecting a similar full-year increase in the high teens—the high end of its July 2026 guidance.
MTU continues to see “continued demand for widebody engines as well as mature narrowbody platforms,” said CFO Katja Garcia Vila. This is despite an aggregate decline in IAE V2500 utilization, driven by both a ramp-up in long-delayed deliveries of newer, more efficient aircraft and higher fuel costs.
“On the V2500s, we [see] less flight hours and cycles ... but we still see a very low retirement rate,” Bussmann said. “The shop visits that happen ... have full work scopes and that is one of the drivers also for our spare parts business.”
July's spare parts guidance saw full-year growth in the low- to mid-teens. MTU now expects to hit the high end of that range, citing strong parts demand for Pratt & Whitney Canada-produced engines as well as a steady flow of heavy-workscope V2500 overhauls.
“We have a very stable induction and request rate from the market looking forward on the V2500 shop visits,” Bussmann said. “This is something where customers have the V2500 within their plan. That is what we are seeing also in the MRO market and in the outlook and in our planning going forward.”
Aviation Week Fleet Discovery shows 80 V2500-powered aircraft have retired in 2026 out of a total fleet of 2,770 in-service and stored aircraft on Jan. 1. That translates to about 2.9% of the fleet.
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