Poll: When will the rest of the world see aircraft utilisation figures grow?

April 01, 2020
surplus aircraft
Airlines that find themselves with surplus aircraft as demand picks up will likely use them to delay maintenance-related costs. Options include swapping them for aircraft or engines that need repairs and breaking them down to harvest usable parts to supplement stocks of spare materials.
Credit: Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency/AFP/Getty Images

Nothing scares the aftermarket world more than ramps packed with parked aircraft, since idle airframes and engines will not need much service. A close second: ramps with some spare aircraft that operators can tap when equipment they are using needs work, pushing off costly repairs and overhauls in the process.

Suffice it to say the global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) community should brace for many unsettling days ahead.

Read more about how the novel coronavirus pandemic has wiped out global passenger air travel demand.

As April approaches, China’s domestic airlines are showing signs of rebounding—aircraft utilization figures tracked by the Aviation Week Intelligence Network Fleet Discovery database showed rates approaching 50% of precrisis levels for the week ending March 27. While still depressed, the figures are substantially up from mid-February’s low of about 20%, which spanned 10 days.

Vote below to have your say. This is an interactive poll, please allow some time to load. 

Read the full article - Commercial Aftermarket Braces For Sharp Decline, Slow Recovery - here. 

To share your views on other areas of the aftermarket, take a look at the previous weekly MRO polls here.