Three years ago, Rolls-Royce & Partners Finance was leasing an engine for a large narrowbody jet for $120,000 a month. Today, a similar powerplant commands a rate of just $50,000. Underpinning the 58% price cut is a simple equation: supply and demand.

Powerplant OEMs seek aftermarket strength amid next-gen engine MRO capacity concerns.

A significant amount of airframe heavy maintenance work soon could be up for grabs in the MRO market. Air Canada had several lines of overhaul work at Aveos before the MRO provider closed its doors less than a month ago. In addition, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines previously performed much of its airframe work in-house, but as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization is seeking to close a heavy maintenance facility at Fort Worth Alliance Airport and possibly reduce work at its base in Tulsa, Okla.

Southwest Airlines has aggressive plans to dispose of its Boeing 737 Classics over the next several years, but at the same time needs to keep pace, in a cost-effective manner, with the scheduled overhauls on the CFM56-3 engines that power those aircraft. The airline does not want to have to buy expensive new parts for engines that are unlikely to be in the Southwest fleet for more than just a few years.

The adage goes that good people are hard to find, and many commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities are reporting difficulties filling technician positions with skilled workers. Given the outlook for the aviation industry, they have legitimate reasons to worry.

Sukhoi's SuperJet 100 (SSJ100) has a “window of opportunity” to break the regional jet Bombardier-Embraer duopoly.

The number of Russian-made civil aircraft flying is dwindling, even here in their home market. Russian airlines have been phasing out their Soviet-legacy fleets the past 5-6 years and replacing them with Western models. This shift decreases the demand for Russian-built aircraft spare parts and is forcing local parts providers to diversify their stock with foreign types.

Maintenance costs in the airline aftermarket are in the spotlight as seasoned players shift to different roles. Pemco World Air Services filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Aveos Fleet Performance closed its doors last month as part of insolvency filing in Canada. Even Lufthansa Technik, one of the largest and most high-tech MROs in the world, needs to improve its declining margin, says its executive board chairman.