Pratt & Whitney's announcement in 2006 that it was to enter the parts manufacture approval (PMA) market with parts for competitor CFM International's CFM56-3 engine was a bold move that was always going to put CFM on its commercial mettle.
P&W aside, increased pressure forcing the use of replacement parts from alternative manufacturers to come of age is coming from the much more positive attitude of European operators, which have been highly visible in recent signings of development agreements with PMA manufacturers.
Now, for the first time, Flight Insight, Flight International's research and analysis service, presents the results of a survey on current and projected use of PMA and - perhaps more importantly - the opinions of those charged with deciding to integrate - or not - PMA into airline operations.
Flight Insight surveyed 40 airlines, mostly from Europe (44%), and there was representation from North America and Africa.
Nearly three-quarters of those responding agree strongly that the use of PMA parts is beneficial to the industry, with the vast majority (81%) saying they now use them, although as 81% of the companies surveyed use PMA parts, the response was likely to be positive. Of that community, most have used PMA parts for more than three years (84%), with around 10% choosing to go down the PMA route between one and two years ago.
Nearly one-third of those airlines surveyed using PMA parts spend 5% or more on alternatively sourced replacements parts as a share of their total annual spend on spare parts, with around a fifth spending 1-1.9%, and 13% spending 4-4.9%.
INCREASED EXPENDITURE
Two-thirds of respondents expect their expenditure on PMA parts to increase over the next five years, as a share of their overall spending on parts, with the remaining third expecting expenditure here to remain the same. No respondent thought his PMA spend would decline.
As for typical savings through the use of PMA parts, a quarter say they are achieving savings of 16-20%, with just under a third making savings of 21-30% and roughly a fifth managing savings of 30%.
The main benefits of using PMA parts are cited as cost of parts (81%) parts availability (58%) an opportunity to increase negotiating strength with suppliers, primarily original equipment manufacturers (32%) and to develop a strategic approach to develop alternate sources (32%).
The main drawbacks of using PMA parts are seen as OEM reaction (48%), which ranks equally with concerns over leasing company penalties/contract issues aircraft/engine residual value and marketability issues (39%) the lack of support by some maintenance providers (29%) while parts reliability concerns ranked low (9.7%).
For those airlines that have not opted to use PMA parts, the overwhelming reasons cited are lease contract obligations, followed by concerns over safety, warranty claims status, and residual values/marketability - and each of these issues is perceived as being of equal importance.
FUTURE CONSIDERATION
Just over half of non-users say their boards of directors have yet to assess the potential of PMA parts. However, all of these respondents say that, although their businesses have no firm plans, they expect their airline to consider their use at some point.
Asked what they think will significantly affect the rate at which PMA parts are used in the airline industry, many cite acceptance by aircraft lessors as being crucial, principally through efforts on the part of safety regulator the European Aviation Safety Agency to harmonise its approach with its more PMA-friendly Federal Aviation Administration counterpart in the USA.
A global agreement between the two bodies declaring that PMA parts are a legitimate and approved source of parts would help safeguard residual asset values.
"We absolutely need a rule in Europe that is clear and well defined, equal for all EASA-member countries, but also compatible with FAA rulemaking. Today, US airlines have advantages that European airlines don't have. Lessors should be convinced to allow EPA [the European equivalent] or PMA," says one respondent.
While the future pricing policy of the OEM is deemed important, PMA parts suppliers also need to improve their supply of continuous information on not only price, but technical details, providing statistics on part reliability and availability.
"The quality and conformity may be areas to be improved. Once we had a C check turnaround time extended two days due to a problem caused by PMA hydraulic filters. Once replaced with OEM parts everything went fine," says one respondent.
To find out more about how research and market analysis services from Flight Insight can help you, email us at insight@flightglobal.com or visit us at MRO Europe in Milan on 7-8 November at stand 235
Source: Flight International
