Nayak Aircraft Services is celebrating 50 years of operations as an independent MRO and with new financial backing from investors, the focus is firmly on European growth.
Dusseldorf-based Nayak closed a strategic partnership and share purchase agreement in January with private equity firm Chequers Capital and discussions on growth opportunities have reached an advanced stage.
“Since the beginning of this year, we’ve had a capital fund behind us which is a comfortable position for us,” Marco Smit, the CEO at Nayak Aircraft Service tells Aviation Week.
Given that there is a lot of fragmentation in the European MRO market, Nayak and Checkers Capital are “working on some acquisitions within” it, Smit reveals. Their focus will remain on European line and base maintenance, rather than diversifying into sub-sectors like components and engines, he says.
The demand for line and base maintenance has steadily increased post-covid. “Our services have seen more demand for scheduled tasks over the network to secure maintenance programs, especially where there is a lack of staff in the market,” says Smit.
In the line business, Nayak has reopened stations in Palma de Mallorca (PMI) and Bilbao (BIO) airport in Spain. In Turkey, it has also opened stations at Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) in Istanbul, Antalya (AYT), Izmir Adnan Menderes (ADB) and Dalaman (DLM) airports. Nayak has grown its existing locations with additional staff to deal with increased demand. Prior to the pandemic, the company employed 700 employees and by late summer 2022, that figure rose to 1,000 and reached 1,200 by the beginning of the summer season 2024.
Interestingly, base maintenance operations follow an around-the-clock 24/7 routine with capabilities on the Airbus A320, A330 and Boeing 737s up to C and D checks. However, the current set up makes D checks slightly unfavorable. “We have the capability, but if you work 24/7on a D check, that is too costly when compared to other facilities with a different setup,” Smit explains.
As an independent MRO, the pressure is always on to deliver on those turnaround times and Smit reckons it’s no different from airline-affiliated MROs. “In any case, we are always striving to provide the shortest TAT, for example, with our hangar working in a 24-7 setup. It is a different approach to the market, but certainly valuable for the airlines.”
The supply chain is still lagging behind the market demand but for Nayak, those issues have a minor impact considering it doesn’t deliver parts and components itself--at least most of the time. However, Smit observes some scheduled work being postponed due to inaccessible parts and components.
Smit also sees increased demand for AOGs, especially in markets with a shortage of highly skilled and experienced engineers. “Overall, we see a need for lower scheduled tasks to avoid standby costs. However, the drive to save costs in this aspect is actually increasing AOG costs once it happens,” he notices.
Rises in AOG parts pricing based on that demand are evident but the current cost of transportation is certainly not helping to push those prices down.
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