from bolts to seats, spare parts are missing (or too expensive) – Corriere.it

There are those who, for a single unobtainable bolt, have had to keep an airplane stationary for days. And who, not having what was needed or not wanting to pay ten times as much, cannibalized a newly received aircraft by taking the material to repair the jets that needed it. Not to mention those who have had to take off some aircraft in their fleet with fewer seats – and therefore ending up losing money – because the waiting times for new seats are endless. The airlines are still dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, but now they find themselves having a structural problem that for some is even worse: the lack of spare parts at a time when people are returning to travel more than before.

Times and prices

The supply chain is in trouble. Maintenance and repair times have expanded to unacceptable levels for airlines. And the lack of components aggravates the situation so much that not only are there few components, but those who have them hold onto them and those who trade them sell them at record prices. Obtaining spare parts is increasingly difficult forcing our planes to stand still for longer, said Yvonne Makolo, CEO of Rwandan carrier RwandAir during the work of the IATA general assembly in Istanbul, Turkey. And even when you finally get these parts they come at a steep price, further driving up our operating costs.

There is frustration

This may have been the main theme of the annual meeting which brought together companies from all over the world. Even more cited than the sustainability and decarbonisation of the sector which has dominated debates and investments for some time. There is frustration among airlines about the lack of spare parts, reasons Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. There are cases of planes standing still because they can’t replace a broken window, the first time I’ve heard of such a thing in my life. And a plane when it is stationary does not produce wealth, on the contrary it increases costs.

Cannibalization

There is no shortage of stories. We had to keep one of our ATRs (turboprop that carries out regional routes, ed) because we couldn’t find a bolt for the landing gear, says al Courier Jiř Marek, CEO of Air Serbia. In recent months we have received some brand new Airbus A321s, but within minutes of their landing we were tearing off parts of those jets to be able to repair the others awaiting repair, says Greg Foran, chief executive of Air New Zealand.

The efforts of the carriers

During one of the panels of the IATA general assembly in Istanbul, the CEO of Air India, Campbell Wilson, recalls that recently the Asian carrier had to procure 30,000 spare parts to put 13 Boeing 787s back in the air: these aircraft — used for intercontinental flights — they were grounded for several years and were used to get the parts needed to fix other planes when the company was in financial trouble (while today there are the billionaires of the Tata family) and could not afford to buy components on the market.

Effects on deliveries

The lack of parts not only slows down repairs, but also the deliveries of new aircraft. And it’s a further problem for us because the market is there, the request for travel as well, but we can’t exploit it because, on the one hand, we are unable to fix the jets in time, and on the other, we don’t receive the new planes regularly. A theme that both Boeing and Airbus confirm. The source of the problem is also not easy to identify because it is not always the same, stresses Wouter van Wersch, Airbus executive vice president and head of sales for Europe in a chat. One day there is a shortage of raw materials, another day it is the logistics, or the lack of components for the cabin, or toilet bowls, or seats. And if everything foreseen in the project is not there, we cannot deliver the plane.