The Indian Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry was worth US$800 million in 2011 and is expected to grow to over US$1.5 billion by 2020. However, currently India constitutes 1 percent of the global MRO market worth US$45 billion.
The measured steps that the Indian government has taken in moving towards the open sky policy, increase in military, civil and business aircraft fleet in the country, the growing preference for air travel by India's largely underserved middle class, and the focus by industry to optimise cost of aircraft operations, provides a strong foundation for the Indian MRO industry to strengthen its capability to meet global standards of excellence.
Setting up an MRO is highly capital intensive with a long break-even time. Operating a credible MRO is highly dependent on investing in the right manpower which is regularly trained and optimally utilised with a strong focus on quality and turnaround time. It also requires continuous investment in tooling, certification from safety regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and global OEMs such as Airbus, Bell Helicopter, Boeing, Bombardier Aerospace, Dassault Aviation, Gulfstream Aerospace, Honeywell and others, in addition to certification from the local regulator in order to stay relevant in today's competitive global environment.
Segments in MRO Maintenance
The four segments in MRO Services are:
1. Airframe maintenance.
2. Engine maintenance, constitute 50% to 55% of the work in value . Engine overhauling and component maintenance is considered the high return in income.
3. Components maintenance has second highest share in revenue.
4. Weekly checks (termed as line maintenance).
Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad has AIESL Overhaul facilities.
Major Players in Indian MRO Market
Eight major players in Indian MRO market are:
1. AIESL (Air India Engineering Services Ltd).
2. Air Works (Air Works India (Engineering) Pvt. Ltd).
3. Indamer Private Limited (Indamer Aviation Pvt. Ltd).
4. Deccan Charter (Deccan Charters Limited).
5. Taj Air (Taj Air).
6. Bird ExecuJet (Bird ExecuJet).
7. GMR Aero Technic Limited (GMR Aero Technic Ltd.).
8. Max MRO Private Limited (Max MRO Pvt Ltd).
During financial year 2018, above companies revenue sharing was more than half of the total industry income.
Commercial aviation
Airlines in India spend about 13–15 percent of their revenues towards maintenance, the second-highest cost item for airlines after fuel. Generally airlines carry on-tarmac inspections (A and B checks) in-house and work with third-party MROs for engine, heavy maintenance (C and D checks) and modifications. Almost all airline MRO infrastructure in India is captive (largely with Air India) with only one fully operational independent third-party provider MRO, Air Works, with an EASA-certified facility in Hosur, near Bengaluru. Air Works provides heavy maintenance capability for Airbus A320, ATR 42/72 and Boeing 737/NG family of aircraft. GMR has set up in partnership with MAS an operational facility meeting EASA standards at Hyderabad.
Until recently, in the absence of quality infrastructure, airlines carried out maintenance outside India at the nearest available MRO location (South East Asia, Middle East or Europe) incurring a ferry flight, logistics costs and engine and component hours. Having the flexibility to get the aircraft serviced in India, at a local MRO with EASA-approved facilities, results in 30–40% saving in aircraft maintenance costs for an airline, despite the tax regime on import of spares into the country making them 30% more expensive as compared to international MROs. In addition to taxation, the other key impediment to growth of airline MRO capacity in India is the lack of availability of hangar space at key international airports. This limits the ability of MROs to tap into the larger potential market of aircraft operating within 5–6 hours of flying distance from India.
Business aviation
Private operators and NSOP (non-scheduled operators permit) holders are required by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) to set up a CAR 145 approved maintenance shop or work with a DGCA approved third-party MRO. Most private operators and NSOP holders prefer the outsourced model for line maintenance (on-tarmac checks) and use OEM/DGCA approved facilities for engine, heavy maintenance and modifications on their aircraft.