The Europe aircraft MRO market is projected to grow with a CAGR of more than 4% during the forecast period.

  • Several airlines like Air France, Eastern Airways, and Loganair among others in the region have aircraft fleet with an average age of more than 14 years. Similarly, the armed forces are also operating a fleet of aging rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft. The old and aging aircraft fleet generates higher demand for aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) which will propel the growth of the market during the forecast period.
  • The use of advanced technologies like augmented and virtual reality to facilitate the decision-making process, and to cut down the execution time for maintenance tasks are anticipated to support the growth of the aircraft MRO market in Europe.
  • Europe is one of the majorly affected regions due to COVID-19 and has resulted in the grounding of the majority of the commercial aviation fleet in the region, signifying an increase in the expenditure on maintenance for the airlines to ensure the airworthiness of their aircraft assets.



Key Market Trends

Engine MRO Segment is Expected to Witness Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period

Engine MRO is an extremely important part of MRO and the most expensive one. The increasing complexity of the engine parts and the increased number of military aircraft crashes, due to engine failures, have made the militaries to focus on frequent engine maintenance and periodic checks. The engine manufacturers like Safran, Rolls Royce, and MTU Aero Engines among others are some of the major engine MRO providers in the region and support commercial, military, and general aviation customers. Also, the engine MRO providers are expanding their facilities to increase their capacity and efficiencies for customers. For instance, Rolls-Royce is expanding its network of engine overhaul services to support the fleet of large aero engines. Rolls-Royce is currently investing in overhaul facilities in Bristol and Inchinnan to increase their capacity to undertake overhauls of Trent 700 engines. The growth in the network of aircraft engine MRO providers in the region to expand their overhaul services is anticipated to propel the growth of this segment in the coming years.

United Kingdom is Expected to Witness Significant Growth in the Coming Years

The United Kingdom has one of the largest aircraft fleets in terms of commercial aircraft, military aircraft, and general aviation aircraft. The commercial aircraft fleet of major airlines like Jet2, British Airways, Eastern Airways, and Loganair have an age of 13.5 years, 13.6 years, 18 years, and 23.4 years, respectively. The aging aircraft fleet in the country is generating demand for new aircraft maintenance contracts. For instance, in February 2020, BA CityFlyer signed an agreement with MTU Maintenance to extend its CF34-8E and -10E MRO contract. Besides investing resources to modernize its fleet, the UK MoD is trying to enhance the lives of its current aerial assets. In March 2018, the UK Army Air Corps awarded a contract to Vector Aerospace, in order to provide maintenance support to 26 of its Gazelle AH Mk1 helicopters, with the execution of the contract planned for April 2018-June 2022. Similarly, many joint ventures and partnerships were formed by the government to support and maintain F-35 aircraft. Such developments are envisioned to drive the UK military aviation MRO market during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the prominent players in the Europe aircraft MRO market are Rolls-Royce Holding PLC, TAP Maintenance & Engineering, Lufthansa Technik AG, BAE Systems PLC, and Airbus SE. There are several airlines in the region with MRO verticals that support their airline fleet. MRO providers are introducing new technology maintenance inspection methods to decrease the execution time for maintenance tasks. The quick maintenance will allow the maintenance providers to decrease the turnaround time of the aircraft. In 2019, Airbus introduced Drone and Augmented Reality inspections that have been jointly developed by Airbus with military service for inspections of Airbus-built A400M aircraft. The new technology provides MRO operators with an end-to-end digital solution that facilitates the performance of tasks while guaranteeing quality and adherence to airworthiness standards. Also, new companies are collaborating to integrate the technology into the MRO supply chain. For instance, in June 2019, KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) launched a joint venture, NUVEON. The company plans to integrate AR technology throughout the MRO chain to improve everyday performance in maintenance. The introduction of such advanced technology by the MRO providers is anticipated to help them increase their customer base as well as their presence in the region.

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