Gallery: European Aftermarket Growth In 2023

Lufthansa Technik Malta is planning to begin base maintenance services for Boeing 787 aircraft in spring 2024. It is investing “several” million euros in training, tooling and materials to accommodate base maintenance for the aircraft type.

Air France-KLM and Airbus are planning the creation of a 50-50 Airbus A350 component maintenance services joint venture. The joint venture would cover supply chain management, repairs and pooling of aircraft components. The companies hope to have the joint venture operational by the first half of 2024, subject to approval from authorities.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a report in September providing recommendations for greener processes for aircraft dismantling and recycling. The report recommends that aircraft be included in the upcoming legislation on eco-design of aircraft, intended as a revision to the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, which would entail designing aircraft so their materials and parts are easy to disassemble and reuse or recycle. 

Lufthansa Technik Aero Alzey added 16,100 ft.² of production capacity at its site in Alzey, Germany. The new hangar, inaugurated on Sept. 15, will serve as a temporary storage space for engine parts and large tools to improve processing of engine overhauls on-site.

LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services (LOTAMS) is planning construction of a new MRO facility at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in southeast Poland. The new hangar will primarily provide base maintenance services and be able to accommodate two widebodies simultaneously or five narrowbodies simultaneously. LOTAMS expects the new hangar to be ready in just under two years’ time.

Aviatic MRO opened a new base maintenance facility in Siauliai, Lithuania in late August. The 183,000 ft.² facility can accommodate four narrowbody bays simultaneously or one widebody and two narrowbody configurations. It will provide line and base maintenance services for Airbus A320, A330, Boeing 737 Classic and NG aircraft at the site.

FL Technics has grown several of its aftermarket capabilities so far in 2023. In August its engine repair division, FL Technics Engine Services, gained certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom to extend its Part 145 maintenance capabilities for CFM56 family engines. In February it added type training for Airbus A350 aircraft and updated its continuing airworthiness management organization certification to add capabilities for Airbus A220, Boeing 737 MAX and 787 aircraft.

Magnetic Group’s design and manufacturing services subsidiary, Magnetic Creative, obtained an EASA supplemental type certificate this summer to install an in-seat power supply system on Scandinavian Airlines’ Embraer E190 aircraft. The modification also includes removing existing passenger seats and replacing them with new Safran Z110 seats reconfigured in a single class, 122-passenger all-economy layout of passenger accommodation.

Sweden’s Taby Air Maintenance (TAM) in August received European regulatory approval for its modification kit to help operators of Saab 2000 aircraft comply with performance-based navigation requirements. The modification, which includes installation of a variety of avionics equipment, is aimed at compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1048. Earlier this year, TAM also conducted its first flight of a Saab 2000 passenger-to-freighter conversion.

Apollo Global invested an additional €500 million ($560 million) in AFI KLM E&M. The investment will go into an Air France affiliate owning a pool of components—a similar structure to Apollo’s 2022 deal to invest the same amount in “an operating affiliate of Air France, owning a pool of spare engines of Air France dedicated to its engineering and maintenance activity.”

Belgian MRO specialist Sabena Engineering acquired a 70% stake in UK-based Aircamo Group, which specializes in minor aircraft and engine repairs, asset management, and airworthiness services for commercial and business aircraft.

French MRO provider Sabena Technics reopened its Boussiron hangar in Marseille, which had been inactive for more than 25 years, to expand volume for helicopter maintenance services. It says reopening the hangar will enable it to double helicopter capacity to around 28 maintenance slots. 

Lufthansa acquired a 41% stake in ITA Airways in May, which it said will provide “attractive opportunities” for its MRO arm, Lufthansa Technik, which would be ITA’s preferred vendor for MRO services under the deal. In June, ITA signed a cabin retrofit agreement with Airbus Services to upgrade its fleet of six Airbus A350-900s with new premium-economy sections.

AJW Group launched AJW Technique Engineering, a new UK-based engineering division specialized in Part 21J design, Part 21G production and Part 145 maintenance services. The division will begin operations from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Fokker Services opened a new widebody maintenance hangar at Woensdrecht Airport in the Netherlands. The 80,000 ft.² facility has a variety of sustainability features, including a geothermal energy system, and Fokker plans to install rooftop solar power capacity later this year. The facility will offer airframe MRO, completion and conversion services.

UK-based Complete Aircraft Group launched a new commercial engine and auxiliary power unit support business, which will operate as Complete Engine Services. The business will provide aircraft borescope inspection and boreblend repair services for a variety of commercial engines, including CFM International CFM56-3/-5/-78s, Leap 1As and 1Bs, IAE V2500s and Pratt & Whitney PW1000s.

Ryanair is planning to build a new four-bay hangar at Dublin Airport ahead of plans to grow its fleet to 600 aircraft by 2026. The 120,000 ft.² hangar will provide heavy and line maintenance of its fleet and is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2025. Earlier this year, the airline began its project to retrofit its Boeing 737-800s with sets of split scimitar winglets, which it expects to reduce CO2 emissions by around 165,000 tons annually.

SR Technics partnered with Atlas Air and Kuehne + Nagel in May to create the Sustainable Engine Alliance, which is exploring ways to manage global engine supply chains more sustainably. It also began work to reactivate an engine test cell in Zurich to prepare for Pratt & Whitney PW1100-JM, CFM56-5B and -7B, and Leap 1A and 1B capabilities. It expects the test cell to be active by the second half of 2024.

Lufthansa Technik signed an agreement with Safran Nacelles in April to join the licensed repair network for nacelles on Leap 1A engines. In February, it opened a new training center for engine mechanics in Hamburg, Germany, through which it aims to train 1,000 new employees by 2027. This year it has also been in the process of adding capacity, capabilities and workforce at its Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon subsidiary. 

STS Aviation Services was granted regulatory approval in March to establish a dedicated engine shop at its base maintenance hangar in Manchester, England. It was also granted Part 21J design organization approval by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) announced plans in February to develop a new widebody paint hangar at Spain’s Teruel Airport, which it opened this summer. The facility is the first at the airport specializing in paint, and IAC expects it to create up to 80 jobs.

EasyJet opened a new narrowbody maintenance facility at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport in January. The four-bay hangar can accommodate up to four Airbus A321s simultaneously and will provide light base maintenance activities on easyJet’s fleet.