Continuing its parts acquisition initiative of the last several years, AvAir tells Aviation Week that it has acquired the complete inventory of airframe and engine parts held by TAP Maintenance & Engineering (TAP M&E) Brazil. The MRO provider was shut down in 2021 by its owner, TAP Air Portugal, when it failed to find a buyer for the operation.
The deal, which was closed in mid-2023 for an undisclosed price, includes 100,000 part numbers, encompassing four million parts, according to Brandon Wesson, president of the Chandler, Arizona-based company. Wesson reports that about 74% of the inventory is now on-site in Chandler, with delivery of the remainder expected within the next two months.
“We reached out to TAP Air Portugal when we learned they were going to shut down their maintenance operation in Brazil and asked about their plans for the inventory, which they said would be put out for bid to other third-party suppliers. We placed the winning bid,” says Wesson, emphasizing that the acquisition was an outright purchase, with no material management, consignment or other ongoing seller involvement.
About 90% of the acquired parts stock is made up of consumable items, with rotable items accounting for the remainder. Among the rotables are Airbus A320 enhanced main landing gears.
Wesson says TAP M&E Brazil had over 10,000 part numbers on its repair capability list, and the inventory to support those repairs. They covered Boeing, Airbus, Fokker, Embraer and Gulfstream airframes. Engine repairs included the CFM International CFM56-3, -5A and -7B, as well as the CF6-80, Rolls-Royce RB211, and Pratt & Whitney JT8D and JT3D.
Asked about the business case for the parts purchase, Wesson notes that it presented an opportunity to bolster AvAir’s inventory with new or repaired parts—which had not been on an aircraft since the repairs were made.
“Lead times are getting longer and pricing is increasing. The more inventory you have that is ready to be installed on an aircraft, the greater the opportunity to provide parts for your customers that don’t want to wait 60-90 days—or can’t wait—for the parts,” he explains. “And since our inventory is very diverse, we have all that additional material available for our customers.”
Wesson adds that, traditionally, AvAir’s focus has been on Boeing and Airbus, but the purchase from TAP M&E Brazil will increase the company’s parts diversity, adding to its stock for Fokker, Embraer and Gulfstream, as well as Boeing and Airbus.
