By Swati Ketkar
The aviation sector in India is rising at a rapid pace, the passenger demand coupled with the airline fleet is driving the sector to become one of the largest growing aviation markets in the world. However, a more pressing matter that is staring at the government as well as aviation stakeholders in the country is the pace of infrastructure growth. Is it in sync with the growing passenger demand? And if not, what measures or steps are being taken to ensure the development of a well-rounded aviation ecosystem in India? Questions like this and many more were raised at the Aviation India 2024 Summit, held at JW Marriot in New Delhi on the 12 and 13th June 2024.
The current need of the hour and the most pertaining question before airlines and aviation stakeholders in India is how to manage the booming traffic in India. IndiGo, is an example of a phenomenon success story not just in India, but globally and Air India is setting its stage to be at par or even better than IndiGo. For engine OEMs like Rolls-Royce, India is a very important and lucrative market.
Is Rolls-Royce coming up with an MRO in India?
Just as Air India and IndiGo have begun inducting their own widebody aircraft in India, it is a no-brainer that soon Indian market will see a huge influx of widebody aircraft. The time can’t be more right to open a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in the country and Rolls-Royce has been eyeing that opportunity for a while. “Currently Rolls-Royce has neither agreed nor denied the option of setting up an engine MRO facility in India,” said Kishore Jayaraman on the sidelines of the Aviation India 2024 Summit. “The company is considering the idea of an MRO, but then again, it’s a question of volume and scale. An MRO is a rather expensive proposition and a lot needs to go into planning and finance before actually setting up an MRO. It’s not like you put up an MRO in every country,” Jayaraman added as an afterthought. He further clarified that Rolls-Royce has not drawn up a definite deadline for setting up the MRO facility.
Normally an aircraft engine requires maintenance over its 20-year lifespan. Currently, Indian airlines send their planes abroad for maintenance as there are not enough engine MROs in the country to deal with the demand.
The company will deliver a total of 100 engines to Air India as part of the Airbus deal.
In February, Rolls-Royce announced an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines, plus options for 20 more, powering the Airbus A350-1000. Air India has also ordered 12 Trent XWB-84 engines, the sole engine option for the Airbus A350-900.
“I am nothing short of thrilled at the huge engine order placed by Indian Airlines. This has set a stage for us in the civil aerospace sector,” added Jayaraman.
This is the first time that an Indian airline has ordered the Trent XWB and the deal will make Air India the largest operator of the Trent XWB-97 in the world. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce is working closely with Air India to support the airline on the ground as well as providing engine monitoring support.
Apart from Air India, IndiGo also placed an order for 30 A350-900 aircraft powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine. Commenting on India’s current widebody market Jayaraman feels that Indian airlines should deploy more widebody aircraft on domestic routes to meet the rising traffic demand. “Apart from international routes, more widebody aircraft will be required to fly between the cities in India. Widebody travel will bring about a revolution in domestic air travel in India as airlines will be able to transfer more passengers effectively and efficiently thus solving the problem of rising passenger demand.”
Currently, Rolls-Royce has MROs in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, UK and the US.
Challenges faced by Indian MRO industry
In India, the current transformation in terms of airport infrastructure, technology adoption, huge aircraft and engine orders, as well as the entry of larger businesses have expanded the size and visibility of the MRO sector. It has also added scale and a much-awaited change, however, more needs to be done to become Atmanirbhar in terms of MRO capabilities.
Indian MRO industry is currently undergoing a deep undercurrent of activity all the while dealing with numerous challenges. The industry is facing trouble in integrating into established value chains that involve original equipment manufacturers, globally recognized MRO entities and airline operators. Besides non-recognition of India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) standards by European authorities is another challenge. Hence India needs to harmonize its regulatory ecosystem with the global one for standardization, easier compliance and faster decision making.
Some of the other challenges on the radar are airport land lease rentals, reduction of taxes like GST and import tax to a level that enables indigenous MRO to compete with pre-existing regional maintenance hubs and attract business as well as support capability building, licensing and certifications, availability of finances and secured credit for setting up of new MROs or expansion of existing ones, securing credit, increase collaboration between civil and defence verticals to realize scale and efficiencies in MRO, as well as facilitate the creation of component manufacturing and repair ecosystem within the country to realize our national ambition of Viksit Bharat etc.
In India, the development of the overall MRO ecosystem depends on all the aviation stakeholders coming together and striving for the upliftment of the MRO sector. Most importantly in countries like India, where passenger traffic is booming and airlines are placing massive aircraft orders, airline operators have a huge role to play. Airlines can and should take up the responsibility to insist to the aircraft OEMs to establish 70-80% of the MRO facility within the country for their upcoming fleet and such provisions should be made mandatory in aircraft contracts. Apart from this, technology transfer for repair/MRO of key components should also be sought from the OEMs. This will help generate a pool of highly skilled and efficient engineers which will in turn aid in the overall nurturing of MRO talent in the country.
OEMs also need to come forward to establish their authorized repair centers in India in collaboration with existing MRO players so that facilities can be established at a faster pace.
It is critical that India does not lose the ongoing momentum that has been created with great difficulty and with considerable effort to ensure that we catch up with the larger global developments.
Indian MRO industry has come a long way in terms of capabilities development and Indian airlines are equally supportive of India’s MRO needs and requirements. To give an example – C Checks that used to be done outside the country, do not out of the country anymore. That gives scale to Indian MROs and saves costs for local carriers and forex for the country. In fact, Indian carriers and even global lessors and OEMs for that matter, are increasingly trusting Indian MROs with complex projects such as End-of-lease projects, aircraft storage, Painting and Cabin interior refurbishment.
Interestingly, Air Works re-delivered (end of lease) India’s first A320neo last year for IndiGo. Apart from civil aviation, Air Works has also undertaken projects of national importance such as Phase 32 checks for the Navy’s P-8I, heavy maintenance of BBJs and HU/ LU-192 monthly checks on IAFs Embraer Legacy aircraft and more.
Lack of skilled labour and GMR School of Aviation
Everything said and done, one of the most prominent questions lurking today before the global MRO industry is the issue of lack of skilled labour – aircraft engineers and technicians. The demand for training and related services has shown signs of faster recovery, but the industry still faces lingering challenges in meeting the demand. Among them are insufficient training capacity to support significant personnel shortages and the lag time required to bring personnel online while continuing to prioritize safety. To support the recovery and growth driven by the expansion of global fleets, the aviation industry will need a long-term strategy that addresses upcoming labour challenges. Investment in early career-development programs and outreach efforts that spark excitement among future aviators will be essential to a healthy aviation market for years to come.
According to Boeing, long-term demand for newly qualified aviation personnel remains strong, as 649,000 new pilots, 690,000 new maintenance technicians and 938,000 new cabin crew members will be needed to fly and maintain the global commercial fleet over the next 20 years.
To train such large numbers of engineers, GMR Aero Technic has entered the skill development segment with the ‘The GMR School of Aviation’. The institute plans to launch the first courses by mid-July. It will offer a globally recognized four-year programme, including two years of academic study and two years of on-the-job training (OJT) in MRO, along with type training.
It is estimated that India’s MRO industry will grow from $1.7 billion in FY22 to $4 billion by FY31. Besides, the MRO work coming in from the defence and foreign airlines will require a significant number of engineers. Thus, GMR’s initiative of training domestic manpower and creating a pool of talented engineers will reduce imported MRO services and increase the country’s share in the MRO segment.
Swati Ketkar is an aviation journalist and writer freelancing for various domestic and international publications. Although she covers stories across the aviation spectrum her main focus and area of expertise is MRO.
