New-Gen Overhauls Present Conundrum For Lessors, MROs

LONDON—Although the portfolio of SMBC Aero Engine Lease (SAEL) now comprises 75% new-technology engines, its managing director believes that lessors need a “strong stomach” to invest in assets like the CFM Leap and Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) due to the lack of clarity and visibility into overhaul costs and time on wing.

Responding to an assertion that the Leap may ultimately require more frequent but cheaper maintenance interventions than the CFM56, SAEL’s Roger Welaratne noted that there are still no cheap or quick repairs for CFM’s latest engine.

“Once they open the engine, you open your checkbook,” he commented at Aviation Week’s recent Engine Leasing Trading and Finance Europe event in London.

And while the Leap and GTF are clearly set to be the mainstay powerplants of the future fleet—with Aviation Week forecasting that the number of new-gen engines will overtake current-gen in 2029, and new-gen shop visits will overtake in 2032—several factors need to be weighed up before adding capabilities on the new platforms.

MRO providers, for instance, can now see a longer runway for CFM56 and V2500 repair services, while the lack of repairs available on the Leap and GTF limit the value-add they can offer on those platforms.

Julius Bogusevicius, head of engines at FL Technics, pointed out that until more repairs are developed, any work on new-gen engines would be limited to swapping out old parts for new, for which an MRO could not do much more than bill for labor.