This edition features an article entitled Global Market Outlook 2023: Maximising Momentum, where Jason Holland speaks to people within companies in the aviation industry, including, AJW Technique’s, Louis Phillipe Mallette, SVP Operations, Montreal. Mallette shares his views on the commercial aviation MRO industry and his expectations for the various MRO segments within AJW Group’s operations.

Holland tackles subjects such as labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and economic headwinds as challenges facing the aerospace industry. While these topics have been at the forefront of discussions for the past 2 years, the outlook amongst industry leaders is positive as business gains momentum in the face of a recovering travel industry.

Industry representatives discuss the fact that workshops are seeing an increase in bookings as borders re-open and although recovery may be slow due to the cost-of-living increases in many countries, the demand for travel continues to grow. With this recovery comes an increase in aircraft orders and fleet cabin refurbishments, which is positive for MRO and aftermarket services offered by companies such as AJW Group. There is a discussion about component maintenance being aligned with aircraft utilisation and the trends within the sector relating to narrow and widebody aircraft. AJW’s Louis Mallette says a recent survey indicates that MRO services are up across the industry, which is particularly evident in the current strength of the European and Asian markets.

With challenges such as staff shortages caused by the migration of personnel out of the industry into other industries, amongst other factors, experts believe that companies need to align their corporate strategies by evolving their staffing policies and investing in training and development programmes to attract and retain qualified personnel.

Louis Mallette says AJW is “Working with customers and logistic partners to understand supply chain vulnerabilities that exist and how to overcome them.” Great opportunities await the industry going into 2023, despite the headwinds ahead, and greater cooperation and partnerships within businesses can lead to them being more successful and competitive.

By embracing digitisation companies can improve efficiency, which will lead to improved sustainability in the aviation industry. The outlook is positive, but challenges need to be addressed to avoid a “self-made crisis” says an industry representative.

“There is still strength in commercial aircraft maintenance, and we are confident for further recovery in MRO services going into 2023”, Louis Mallette, SVP Operations, AJW Technique.