Aimeé Turner from Aircraft Cabin Management looks at how the desire and need for innovation in the cabin interiors industry are being fed by forward-thinking operators such as AJW Group.

 

She interviews various aviation supply chain integrators, including AJWs’, Sohaib Ahmed, Programme Manager, Interiors, asking them about their experience with the aftermarket supply chain demand.

 

The global landscape for manufacturing logistics and staffing in the aviation industry is more challenging than ever. Commercial airline operations are returning to normal at a rapid rate to meet the demands of travellers, which means an increase in demand for new equipment orders and aftermarket components. It only takes one part on a plane to be missing or faulty to have an AOG, and this is where reliable OEMs and MROs are needed.

 

There is such unpredictability in the market and businesses do not want to overcapitalise, but still need stock. The consensus amongst people in the industry is that suppliers, therefore, need to forecast for the expected as well as the unexpected, to meet demands in the supply chain.

 

Many factors are coming to play, including early retirements from highly skilled people, from management through to labour, and people who have left the industry. Another factor has been the struggle to get raw material levels back up and running to meet industry demand.

 

 

Over the past two years, the industry has been in survival mode. However, MRO has been less impacted by the pandemic than interiors, which has been the last thing on the minds of already cash-strapped airlines. The result is that cabin redesign and refurbishments have not happened as the ROI has not been justified.

 

The article continues highlighting Aircraft Cabin Interiors (AIX) in Hamburg, as a milestone this year as the industry was finally able to come together again to present and market new products such as AJW Technique Interiors’ Skyleather ®, amongst others.

 

Turner also asks, “What is the current status of the aircraft cabin supply industry and how are the best practitioners adapting to the challenge?”

 

Read here to find out more...