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When I looked at this issue’s table of contents, “the in-between” popped into my head—perhaps because last night the cast of Netflix’s Stranger Things appeared in a post in my social media feed.
Unlike the scary “in-between” on the show, this issue of Inside MRO should not make you lose sleep. However, it highlights the many things in our industry that are in flux.
Take the engine MRO market. OEMs are producing and delivering new engines at historic highs but struggling to generate enough parts to satisfy demand for new and existing engines. Simultaneously, CFM needs to retrofit its Leap 1A and 1B engines with a reverse bleed system to prevent carbon deposits in fuel nozzles, a phenomenon known as coking, while Pratt & Whitney PW1000Gs are coming off wing for contaminated powder metal inspections.
“The surge of [Pratt & Whitney] premature shop visits hit an overhaul network already at capacity from swapping parts out to correct a series of unrelated durability issues,” writes Sean Broderick in “Painful Projections”.
Then those narrowbody engine predecessors, the CFM56 and IAE V2500, are staying on wing longer due to aircraft and engine delivery delays, meaning the mature platforms also are generating more aftermarket demand. Both ends of the market—new and mature—are pulling MRO resources.
GE Aerospace, in fact, saw a higher volume of time-and-material work and heavier workscopes in the second quarter as mature engines came in for third shop visits, which boosted the company’s revenue and profit. Read more about the engine market in Alex Derber’s “Boom and Gloom” feature.
While narrowbody engines are dominating demand, on the widebody side, Rolls-Royce is testing new high-pressure turbine blades on the Trent 1000, which powers the Boeing 787.
Meanwhile, to help meet demand, engine MRO providers are adding partners for targeted workscopes such as module swaps. FTAI Aviation and partner Vortex Aviation contracted Indonesian MRO Batam Aero Technic to replace CFM56 modules. Lufthansa Technik contracted Woodward to repair certain engine components. SR Technics inducted its first Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) engine in Zurich for overhaul, making that facility Pratt’s 17th active GTF MRO facility. And CFM appointed Israel Aerospace Industries, through its Bedek Aviation division, to conduct quick-turn repair services for the Leap 1A (see James Pozzi’s article).
More of the “in-between” is happening at Boeing Global Services, whose new CEO Chris Raymond talks about moving forward and bringing “stable execution” to the business.
Add artificial intelligence (AI) to the MRO market, and it takes on some of the surreal aspect of Stranger Things. See how companies plan to implement AI and learn about SIA Engineering’s own generative AI system called Newton.
Enjoy this issue!
—Lee Ann Shay
