Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 25

Commercial engine overhaul is
experiencing robust and strong activity due
to a thriving worldwide economy.
by Jennifer Wilberschied

orldwide economic growth has made way for affordable
travel and a high passenger demand, now and into the
foreseeable future.
"We have experienced a period of substantive growth in the
aviation industry, due to solid growth in Gross Domestic Product,
low unemployment rates, low interest rates and moderate fuel
prices," explained Kari Williams, vice president marketing -
Services, Rolls-Royce. "All of this has enabled more affordable travel, as airlines
have been able to generate consecutive years of profitability and expand their
operations through acquiring new modern aircraft and retaining older aircraft
due to lower fuel prices."
As a result, Williams notes the industry is experiencing a growing demand for
MRO, due to the expanding global fleet and older aircraft coming in for an additional overhaul. "Today, a large proportion of MRO spend is for older aircraft but as
we move forward, we will see new-generation aircraft accounting for the majority
of MRO spend," she pointed out.
"Today and looking out a few years, we see a very strong passenger demand,
increasing load factors and strong worldwide economic growth," said Joe Sylvestro,
vice president of global aftermarket operations at Pratt & Whitney. "This tends to
favour aircraft in service currently, which in turn means an increase in engine overhaul and maintenance. Overall, we see a long-term growth cycle for engine maintenance and we are positioned to be able to support customer demand accordingly."

Keeping Up with Growth

The industry is experiencing a growing demand for
MRO, due to the expanding global fleet and older
aircraft coming in for an additional overhaul.
ROLLS-ROYCE

Pratt & Whitney expects with close to 7,000 engines in service, the V2500 will be
in high service demand for the next decade or more. The company anticipates the
PW4000 and PW2000 engines to still be in service and continue be an important
part of its overall engine portfolio.
For the GTF, the GTF MRO network currently has seven active engine centers:
Pratt & Whitney Columbus Engine Center, Pratt & Whitney West Palm Beach, Pratt
& Whitney Eagle Services Asia, MTU-Hannover, IHI-Mizuho, LHT Hamburg and
LHT Alzey. By 2020, there will be nine active GTF MRO engine centers. Sylvestro
says the goal of the network is to provide the highest quality maintenance support
for GTF engine customers. As volume grows, the network is expected to expand
to include other airline and MRO shops.
Rolls-Royce's fleet size is expected to double in the next 10 years and triple in
the next 20. The company's business model is linked to providing CareServices
across the whole product lifecycle and a key part of this is engine maintenance,
repair and overhaul. This means Rolls-Royce is focused on providing the right
size network at the right time and ensuring there isn't significant overcapacity.
To deal with the growing MRO demand, Rolls-Royce will develop its services
network through repurposing, expanding and partnering with overhaul bases to
ensure its customers have access to the capable, competitive and flexible offerings that they require.

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Aircraft Maintenance Technology

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