“OEMs should step up to solve the supply chain issues”

Aircraft manufacturers must step up to make sure that the supply chain of parts at Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) gets stabilized. Unless OEMs invest massively in resources and staffing and adjust their business models, the airline industry continues to be exposed to parts shortages and unavailability of aircraft. That was a view shared by various key stakeholders at airlines on the first day of MRO Europe, the Aviation Week-sponsored conference at the Amsterdam RAI Convention Center.

Bring together a couple of hundred stakeholders from airlines, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies, and lessors, and you get a clear view of their concerns. In a number of polls among attendees, 48 percent said that the supply chain is the main reason for the current instability in the industry. 75 percent say that the unavailability of trained staff is an issue, while 71 percent blame ‘OEM dynamics’ for having a negative effect on the aftermarket.