MRO Overview

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul

The Airline MRO industry has been in a state of rapid transition as airlines seeking cost and service improvements have shifted from in-house to outsourced maintenance as the dominant model. The emergence of MRO competitors in low labor cost regions has also radically changed the competitive dynamics of the industry, forcing traditional MRO competitors to adapt to offer more sophisticated services in order to remain relevant.

The pace of change continues as MROs seek competitiveness through increasingly sophisticated support services, bundled ‘full-service’ offerings, global footprints and relentless efficiency improvements. MROs are also unlocking unrealized value through mergers, acquisitions, alliances and the sale of non-strategic assets. Meanwhile, turmoil in the broader aviation industry is creating significant pressure as airlines seek to cut costs, and accelerated retirement of old-generation fleets is reducing forecast demand.

The rapid growth and evolution of the MRO industry is offering smarter and more responsive competitors significant opportunities for growth and profitability.

Seabury has unrivaled experience helping them succeed. We have been dedicated to the aviation industry and its related businesses since our founding in 1995. That focus gives us a full understanding of an MRO’s business and the larger environment in which it competes.

We bring expertise gained from decades of experience working at many of the leading names in global airline maintenance and commercial MRO. Our diverse team structure allows us to understand strategic, financial and complex operational considerations of maintenance. As a result, we take a more comprehensive review of the business to help management tackle the most difficult issues.

It is this knowledge of our clients and their business environment that has enabled us to shape a commanding share of MRO turnarounds during the last ten years. Our specific strengths include:

• An understanding of global and regional MRO, airline and OEM markets which provides us with a strong advantage in reframing clients’ commercial and operational strategies
• Extensive experience in maintenance contract negotiations on both sides of the negotiating table, further enhanced by comprehensive contract, pricing and service benchmarks for nearly all fleet types
• Experience in achieving manpower costs reductions through improved manpower planning, rostering and process reengineering using proprietary analytical tools
• Dedicated labor analytics team with industry-leading benchmarks on wage rates, benefits and work rules, and extensive experience in supporting labor negotiations
• Specialized expertise in supply chain optimization, specifically optimizing the tradeoffs between repair cost/turnaround time, inventory and service levels
• Expertise in planning and forecasting, including demand, footprint and resource planning
• The preferred advisor to leading private equity firms evaluating MRO acquisition, merger or monetization opportunities

Whether you’re considering making fundamental changes to your operations or targeting more narrowly-focused improvements in costs, cash extraction or operational performance, Seabury brings unsurpassed maintenance expertise and tools to ensure you achieve results.