A combination of steadily high aircraft usage to meet demand and reliability problems with some new aircraft has the global af-termarket growing at rates not seen in nearly a decade, and the good times are expected to continue so long as fuel prices remain fairly stable.A Canaccord Genuity survey showed sales of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services grew at about 9% in the third quarter-the highest figure the financial services firm has seen since 2011. While many factors are contributing to the surge, the primary one is continued demand for lift,which drives maintenance demand. Passenger traffic, as measured in revenue passenger-kilometers, was up 6.7% for the first nine months of the year, International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures show. Retirements continue to lag, which means fewer aircraft to part out for used serviceable material. Canaccord figures show that retirements of Airbus and Boeing aircraft totaled about 260 in the first three quarters, down 36% year-over-year. They were up slightly in the third quarter, but not by enough to create concerns. "The recent gradual increase in fuel prices has not offset the demand for older aircraft [triggered by] strong passenger traffic," Canaccord analyst Ken Herbert says.
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