Business MRO in China – rise of trade in rotables

With an average fleet age of 8 years, most Chinese business aircraft operators are still covered by aircraft warranty. If, however, they find themselves in need of acquiring new parts, these tend to come from relatively young fleets. As these fleets are inevitably aging, in the near future the rotable aircraft parts market in China is expected to grow.

With multiple booming industries and the rapidly growing middle class, development of aviation industry in China is a national priority, so the Chinese government is allocating considerable resources towards further extending domestic aviation production capabilities, building new airports, training pilots and increasing local aviation MRO capacity. At the moment, China is the second largest domestic aviation market in the world with the fastest growing passenger traffic rate of 6.6 percent per year. 

Aviation companies often opt for rotable aircraft parts vs. new components for several reasons. First of all, retables can be safely used a number of times, even after being subjected to major repairs. After all, new aircraft parts are pricey and very few aircraft operators are wealthy enough to afford or willing to engage in such unnecessary spending. According to industry experts, aircraft rotables cost up to 5-10 times less than new parts.  Moreover, in many cases companies opt for extra time savings, as when it comes to rotables, a typical lead time is significantly shorter than the one required to locate, order and deliver their new counterparts. Therefore, in most scenarios, by ordering second-hand, aircraft operators commonly enjoy a less expensive, yet still warranty-covered and safe alternative.  

“Naturally, all fleets are aging and the spare parts support warranties are expiring. Luckily, reputable providers offer parts that are serviced at approved repair facilities only, thus critical reliability is always ensured with Certificates of Conformance, regardless of the region. For instance, all rotables that our company offers in China also come with the CAAC release certificates included, so our customers can rest being assured that the savings they make come with no compromises on safety,” said Darius Saluga, CEO of Jet MS - a global provider of integrated aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul solutions for business and regional aviation.