Narrowbody aircraft MRO: is under capacity on the horizon?

With the prospect of new single-aisle jets to replace B737s and A320s still at least 15 years away, the heavy maintenance industry is preparing to offer continued support for the existing fleet. As a result, in the 2014 the airframe MRO of Airbus’ and Boeing’s popular jets will account for over $7bn worldwide. However, due to rapidly increasing demand for heavy maintenance of these aircraft, the MRO industry is equivocal about the actual capacity it can offer, especially as concerns adequate supply of qualified workforce to handle the work. The airframe MRO market – including heavy checks, line maintenance and modifications – for the narrowbody aircraft is expected to reach approximately $9.1bn in 2014. Aviation Week’s data shows the biggest drivers of narrowbody airframe MRO in 2014 to be the A320 family (including the A318 through A321) and Boeing 737 (-300 through -900 series), which are expected to generate over $7bn.