Aviation Week's MRO Podcast

While demand for many maintenance services has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, companies are readying themselves for better days. In a move boosting its capacity, Lithuanian MRO Aviatic recently entered into an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries for a new facility covering services such as base maintenance and passenger to freighter conversion work from 2022 in Siauliai. Povilas Padaiga, CEO of Aviatic and Aurelija Kuezada, director at Siauliai Airport, discuss the need for greater capacity and how resurgent cargo activity is factoring into its plans.  

Delta Air Lines installed sensors on the WiFi antenna area of an aircraft to test structural health monitoring. Could this be a step toward moving airframe MRO to a more predictive maintenance model, similar to that used by engines? David Piotrowski, Delta TechOps’ senior principal engineer, talks with Aviation Week’s Lee Ann Shay about how aircraft mainteannce could shift to data diven, tail-specific maintenance.

As advanced air mobility gets closer to becoming a reality, aviation is turning its focus toward building up the ecosystem needed to operate and maintain eVTOLs. In this MRO podcast, the CEOs of Eve and Skyports talk to Aviation Week editors about what vertiport networks will look like and how maintenance wil l fit into the equation.

Line maintenance across the world was immediately impacted following the outbreak of COVID-19 but the market could start to recover this year. In this MRO podcast, Jacco Klerk, CEO of Direct Maintenance, talks about the prospect of aircraft returning to service and ramping up operations to meet MRO demand.

As the aviation industry tracks fleet status daily for signs of recovery, Wendy Sowers, Boeing’s director, commercial market forecasting and analysis, talks with Aviation Week’s Lee Ann Shay about commercial aviation trends, what aftermarket segments should recover first (and last) and predictions for what the MRO market could look like post-pandemic.

Travel restrictions and social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing the MRO industry to get creative in how it conducts business. Aviation Week editor Lindsay Bjerregaard speaks with experts from Rolls-Royce, SR Technics and Donecle about how technology is being used to provide remote inspection services to customers and whether the pandemic will be a catalyst for widespread industry adoption moving forward.

Alice Springs, in central Australia, is where many Asia-Pacific aircraft are getting parked. When Tom Vincent opened Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage there in 2014 as the first purpose-built aircraft storage facility in Asia-Pacific, he didn’t predict anything like the pandemic occurring.

As Air France adjusts its fleet and starts to ramp up flying, what does this mean for its procurement needs? Thomas Sonigo, Director of Procurement, OEM/MRO, at Air France, talks with Lee Ann Shay about what this means for MROs, including contracts and pricing. 

Dave Lange of FedEx Express talks with Lee Ann Shay about changes in cargo operations, including flying international charter relief missions, during the pandemic.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the U.S. sets aside more than $60 billion for aviation companies in grants and loans, and small businesses could be eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program. Christian Klein, executive VP for the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, talks with Aviation Week editors Sean Broderick and Lee Ann Shay about how MROs can access these funds—and what the next steps could be.