Page 8 - AAA SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

NOT YET

OUT OF

THE WOODS

THE GLOBAL MRO inflation, and sustainability,” according to Oliver Wyman’s 2022
INDUSTRY IS ON THE Annual MRO survey.
RECOVERY PATH, BUT THE “Recruiting mechanics has become noticeably more
SHORTAGE OF SKILLED difficult compared to the pre-crisis period,” Frank
TECHNICIANS COULD Bayer, Vice President, Human Resources at Lufthansa
Technik
DERAIL PROGRESS
Steady Growth
 ARUN SIVASANKARAN
MRO demand is expected to recover to pre pandemic levels by
With demand for air travel surging globally, 2024 and reach US$118 billion by 2030, registering an annual
hangars are filling up again, but clouds are growth of 2.5 per cent until 2027 and 2.8 per cent from 2027
gathering on the horizon. until 2031. The growth will be uneven across regions and will be

MRO spending, which had dropped alarm- dictated by while Western Europe will not see demand recover
ingly with the onset of the pandemic, is back until 2025, the Asia Pacific region will recover faster China While
up again and on track to get back to 2019 the growth signals a return to normalcy and marks a recovery
levels by 2023. The industry, which has seen from the pandemic, the projected total MRO spend is still 13 per
digital transformation taking root over the cent below the pre-pandemic forecast of US$135 billion.
last two years, is set to see growth over the With the Asia Pacific taking longer to recover compared to other
next decade but could confront significant regions and carriers deferring heavy maintenance, MRO compa-
headwinds, the scarcity of skilled technicians nies in the region have seen their business dip more than their
being the main one. counterparts in other regions. With restrictions finally easing as

If lack of work was what crippled MRO countries open up borders, companies are finding themselves
organizations over the last two years, many busy again as carriers reactivate aircraft in storage.
companies are having to deal with a tempo- Among the companies investing in the region is Lufthansa
rary capacity crunch as airlines return more Technik. Lufthansa Technik Philippines, which had held a
of their fleets to service. With most MRO ground-breaking ceremony in November 2019 for a new 9,000
companies deciding to go ahead with facil- square meter hangar in Pasay Bay near Manila, opened the
ity expansion plans as the industry recovers US$40 million base maintenance facility in August this year. The
faster than expected, the longer-term capac- facility was originally scheduled to be completed in September
ity outlook is significantly brighter. Over the 2020. The new location will service Airbus A320, A330, A380
current decade, companies are set to deal and Boeing 777 aircraft. The company plans to add up to 275
with a new set of challenges around labor, new staff at the location. ST Engineering is another MRO major

8 | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA