Gallery: MRO Europe 2024 Conference Coverage, Day One

Dan Williams, Aviation Week Network's director of fleet data services, took to the stage to kick off MRO Europe 2024 to put the MRO industry outlook into perspective. He talked about the commercial fleet and MRO forecast outlook for 2025.

Williams talked about annual new deliveries, historical and forecasted data, and shared highlights—including 21,900 new aircraft deliveries, 5,000 of those in Europe from 2025-34.

Williams quipped that he would keep his steps up by staying on the move while giving his talk. He shared a slide about what happened in the MRO industry since last year's MRO Europe, including the Boeing MAX 9 door blow-out, an incident which led to, among other things, a new CEO and a workers' strike. 

Tom Broughton, Aviation Week Network's senior conference producer (far right), stood at the podium to welcome delegates to MRO Europe 2024. He introduced the first panelists joining moderator Lee Ann Shay, Aviation Week Network's executive editor for business aviation and MRO, on stage for a discussion about nearshoring vs. offshoring dynamics.

Panelists from left to right: Aleksandra Juda, president and CEO, LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services (LOTAMS); Kailash Krishnaswamy, SVP  and chief procurement officer, Spirit AeroSystems; Basil Papayoti, VP commercial MRO, Delta TechOps; and Enrique Robledo, Iberia's Maintenance Director.

MRO Europe 2024's keynote speaker was Oliver Iffert, COO of Vueling. He spoke about the low-cost carrier's maintenance strategies, challenges and technology innovations.

Vueling COO Oliver Iffert also discussed cross-department collaboration and cost optimization with Aviation Week Network's Managing Editor of MRO, Lindsay Bjerregaard.

James Pozzi, Aviation Week Network's MRO editor for EMEA (far left) was joined by Daniela Serafini, VP and head of flight hour services at Airbus; Jaime Ramirez, supply chain procurement and contracts manager at Air Europa Airlines; and Jim O'Sullivan, Heico's VP of business development for EMEA.

The experts discussed an audience-generated word-cloud which highlighted a sample poll of industry opinions on the current state of the MRO supply chain. The panel also spoke about managing supply chain demand peaks.

Delegates flocked to have lunch outside the conference room. Lunch was an Asian-fusion selection of delights. Delegates tucked into seared sesame seed tuna on a bed of shredded carrot, edamame beans and salad leaves; a chicken mousse with avocado; and salmon and wasabi sandwiches, followed by cheese and biscuits and dessert favorites, such as lemon meringue pie.

Sean Broderick, Aviation Week Network's senior air transport and safety editor (far left), hosted the first panel discussion after lunch on the subject of production disruptions and aftermarket impacts. 

He was joined from left to right by Matthew Davies, general manager at Airinmar; Bo Lump, senior vice president of business development at SR Technics; Oleg Novak, managing director of Airhub Aviation; and Carlos Garcia Martin, partner at Oliver Wyman.  

The panelists talked about delivery delays, a lack of experience in the workforce and supply chain vulnerabilities. The panelists said challenges in quality and oversight are driving demand for older and end-of-life aircraft. They also conversed about ongoing OEM challenges for the aftermarket and how maintenance programs are changing.

Jonas Murby (left), principal at AeroDynamic Advisory, was joined by (from left) Alex Ceballos, director of technical assets and supply chain at Aer Lingus; Eduardo Carreira Gutierrez, SRM manager at IAG GBS; Kaire Kalve, head of supply chain at Magnetic Group; Roger Singleton, CEO of Riskoa Solutions; and Harriet Wollerton, ADS services director at ADS Group.

The panelists talked about how environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting is fast becoming an important differentiator for procurement leaders when selecting suppliers. However, knowledge and consistency in reporting structures remain scattered. The panelists also talked about which platforms and frameworks can be established to better mitigate ESG risks and increase collaboration down the supply chain.

Alistair Dibisceglia, director at Oliver Wyman Vector, had a fireside chat with Eve Air Mobility's VP of Customer Services, Luiz Mauad, about urban air mobility (UAM) becoming a reality.