How The MRO Industry Has Evolved Over The Last 30 Years

We were primarily focused on serving business aircraft owners based in South Africa or those flying into South Africa from nearby countries to do business. But once the aircraft range increased, aircraft owners had the option to service their aircraft overseas, such as in the US or Europe.

We felt it was important to develop an MRO network and not just stick to one country if you want to be successful. Aircraft owners want to have access to an international MRO network that can meet their needs in various parts of the world.

We established maintenance facilities and operations in various locations across Europe, Asia-Pacific, China and the Middle East, to efficiently meet the customers’ needs, providing fast and reliable maintenance services. Over the years, customers’ expectations have increased and the competition is a lot tougher now.

Besides consistency of service, business aircraft owners want competitive pricing. To provide that, you need to have some ‘economies of scale’ so you can negotiate favourable pricing for spare parts from the original equipment makers (OEMs) for airframe, engine and avionics systems. If you don’t have the ‘economies of scale’ you will probably be buying the majority of your spare parts at list price.

We have strong relationships with the OEMs that we have developed over the past 30 years. ExecuJet MRO Services engineers are trained at OEM-approved facilities and certified on a wide range of aircraft, including Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, Gulfstream, Hawker and others.

Our international expansion strategy has always been to go into developing, under-served markets and create a world-class business.

A key aspect that has changed in the MRO industry in the past 30 years is that OEMs are becoming more involved in the aftermarket. Jet Aviation is owned by Gulfstream’s parent General Dynamics. Our company became a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation in 2019. ExecuJet MRO Services has continued to maintain aircraft types from various manufacturers.

Having strong relationships with the OEMs is very important, particularly with regard to predictive maintenance, which is a key trend in the MRO industry.

Predictive maintenance involves monitoring and analysing the data from the aircraft’s systems and sensors to identify maintenance work that needs to be done, before it becomes an issue.

Another key trend in MRO industry is the use of ‘virtual reality’ and ‘augmented reality’ for the purposes of maintenance training. Dassault Aviation is a pioneer of virtual reality and developed Falcon Immersive Practical Training, which uses 3D virtual reality technology to facilitate maintenance training for engineers and technicians.

In terms of challenges ahead for the business aviation MRO sector, a key challenge is attracting talented young people to our industry. Raising the profile of our industry is imperative to attract appropriate talent.

We are competing for young talent against the ‘Googles’ of the world. To attract young people, we need to inspire them to join our industry by highlighting how business aviation is at the forefront of new technology including digital technologies.