Boeing, Airbus delays bring older planes to DAE’s repair shops

The Middle East’s biggest aviation services firm said delayed deliveries of new jets by Boeing Co. and Airbus SE have driven up demand for its maintenance and overhaul facilities as airlines make do with older planes.

“Demand is at an all time high because there is a global shortage in capacity,” Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said in an interview. “Airlines have intense pressure to make sure that every aircraft they own is up flying and making money for them because the supply of new aircraft is constrained,” he said. 

Without brand-new aircraft, airlines are signing up for more planned maintenance than in the past to ensure their fleet is available at all times as demand for travel continues to be strong, Tarapore said. That, coupled with a shortage of maintenance capacity, has meant lengthier waits for aircraft repairs.

DAE’s maintenance facilities — operated by its Jordan-based Joramco unit — are booked up for the next 18 months, Tarapore said. 

The firm, which is also the Middle East’s largest plane-leasing company with more than 400 aircraft, said it, too, is facing long delays on its jet orders. DAE only expects to receive about half the number of Boeing 737 aircraft that it was previously scheduled to get. 

Airbus last month warned that it won’t be able to deliver the 800 aircraft it had previously predicted for 2024 as it struggles with shortages on components ranging from engines to structural parts to cabin interiors, while rival Boeing has also been forced to cap production to sort out its manufacturing after a near-fatal accident in January.