15 July 2020: The post COVID-19 pandemic phase has started across the globe, many International airlines have slowly started opening to business. The MROs have geared up to get their share of maintenance work. However there is a lot of uncertainty in the market. With the furloughs and lay-offs there’s increased negativity in the MRO sector. Oscar Prez Vzquez, Managing Director -Heavy Maintenance at Iberia speaks about how to deal with the crisis, the overall impact on MRO industry, the slow recovery phase and much more in an Exclusive Interview with Swati.k
Q – It is predicted that domestic airlines will have a faster come-back as opposed to International players. What impact will it have on the MRO industry as a whole?
A – Scenarios change very often so it’s a matter of adapting to them. The scenario you mention may have a drift on the maintenance needs between wide body and narrow body, something that we’ve already started to face. At Iberia Maintenance we have the facility and staff skills flexibility to adapt to demand coming from narrow body or wide body.
Q- The compulsion of safety norms and social-distancing at work places has created inconvenience for many MRO operations while performing regular checks etc. How did you deal with this challenge?
A – That’s a challenge indeed which we have faced with ahead-of-the-game measures to assure a Covid safe environment. All our staff have gone through Covid tests to make sure all at the working place are virus free, together with a big battery of new safety measures as disinfection of all workplaces, work stations toilets, all areas where people gather, and equipment; consciousness-raising campaigns to encourage hand-washing, social distancing, the use of PPE, and all other prevention measures recommended by health authorities; and other as staggered entrance and leaving times when possible, redistribution of space, signage, physical barriers, etc. The challenge is mainly overcome by the great commitment of the IB MRO team, which I’m proud of how they’ve gone through the most difficult times of the pandemic while supporting the customers with heavy checks. In fact we have just received from APPLUS, one of the worldwide leaders in the certification sector, the Safe Work Certification qualification against Covid 19.
Q – The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a rise in mergers and acquisitions in aerospace MRO as a safe survival strategy in the crisis. What, according to you will be the long-term impacts of such contracts?
A – Major global events can and usually do lead to consolidation in certain sectors this is not new. I think a number of companies will be viewing all options in this situation clearly M&A activity only makes sense if it brings value to the customer whilst retaining choice.
Q – Analysts have predicted that, going ahead the airlines will further delay the maintenance schedules wherever possible. So it is said that the initial few months post pandemic will be extremely difficult for MROs, however it will see a gradual increase in the MRO activities. Your views
A – This year maintenance schedules have become quite hectic, with last minute drops on heavy checks as well as very short term demand, as a result to the changing scenarios on the airlines flight schedules and fleet management. As said before, while we see a reduction on scheduled maintenance, some other needs such as redelivery checks are arising. Flexibility of MROs is key and customers are looking for the suppliers to step up and support them in this time of crisis.
Q – The pandemic has increased the use of digital innovations and technologies like additive manufacturing, predictive maintenance, virtual inspections, on-line training, artificial intelligence etc for MRO operations. Can you explain with day-to-day example the use of any of the above technologies during the pandemic phase?
A –The need of improving the MROs by digitalization and new technologies is not only associated to the pandemic. We have been proactively looking for ways to improve customer experience and services at a lower cost by new innovative solutions. True that the pandemic has increased the need to provide tele-assistance when customers were not able to travel. On that sense, as an example, at IB MRO we have increased the activity on live streaming Boroscope inspections, so the owner/lessor can assist live to the BSI and wide use of office 365 functionality.
Q – The stand-alone repair shops are the worst hit in this crisis. Do you see a scope for market recovery for such shops?
A – Difficult. This type of shops have been surviving mainly on mature products where the entry barriers are lower. The older fleet retirements will put a lot of pressure in this market on the short/medium term.
Q – Lastly, what advice would you give to the younger generations currently pursuing their careers in aircraft maintenance?
A – The airline industry has gone through crisis periods over the last decades. Covid is by far the deepest one and, as in every crisis period, the industry will not be the same, so we will have to adjust our business models to the new reality. The ones with a more solid cost base and best service will be able to compete in a more challenging scenario. To drive the industry forward we need to not only attract but retain key talent, innovative and digitally designed aircraft demand a new approach and the younger qualified generation have a great future ahead in this industry.
