The Air Transportation industry, which has returned to its pre-Covid volume, continues to struggle with different problems due to the blood it lost. One of these problems is MRO slots.
Due to production and supply problems originating from Boeing and Airbus, the addition of new aircraft to fleets is delayed. Unexpected findings in the newly added aircraft and inadequacies in repair processes are the other side.
Due to the lack of new aircraft, old ones cannot be removed from fleets on the planned dates. This forces many operators to continue using their old aircraft, even if they do not want to, and even to put the ones they will scrap back into active service. The industry has not grown to the extent and speed that it can handle this much maintenance, neither in terms of maintenance slots nor man hours. The process of putting a new aircraft into service and the preparation of a maintenance center for that aircraft are very different. While new aircraft create the least problems for operators (except for those originating from production), they require many preparations for maintenance centers due to their newness. It is impossible for maintenance center expansion to be parallel to fleet expansion.
Many operators flying large fleets have now started to reserve maintenance slots 2-3 years in advance. Large operators who use their financial leverage with many aircraft are relatively comfortable. However, small operators with a fleet of 25-30 aircraft and below and who do not have a certain agreement are in for a difficult time in terms of maintenance.
The maintenance requirements of old aircraft are longer and more arduous than new ones. They need more spare parts. This increases the pressure on the supply and logistics activities of both manufacturers and maintenance centers. With spare parts that are hard to find, delays in shipment, and those waiting for approval and response from the manufacturer, maintenance periods go far beyond the planned.
These extended maintenances immediately affect the plans of aircraft waiting in line at limited intervals. It should not be surprising if maintenance centers do not accept aircraft that are over a certain age soon. Or, to protect themselves from their next customers, they may start to demand additional fees for slots that exceed a certain period while maintenance is still ongoing. Those who cannot do this will have to inflate their prices and reduce the number of slots by increasing the delay tolerance. The already few slots will become even more scarce.
Operators on the other side will impose delay fees to protect themselves in the same way for delays caused by maintenance centers. These rights, which were not applied much in the past, are now likely to be applied and painful. Congested work creates emergencies and increases maintenance errors by triggering the human factor.
Civil aviation has started the war on a new front of the spiral of losses caused by Covid. While both operators and maintenance centers continue their profitable steps and investments to meet the demand, it seems that they will also start to implement the measures that we are not used to in a disciplined manner to protect themselves.
Of course, the problems caused by growth are more attractive compared to the problems caused by shrinkage. Both sides have waited a long time to have these problems and both sides must do their best to overcome them. Ultimately, both sides are in the same boat and their goal is common: aircraft returning to their flights as soon as possible!