San Antonio, March 28, 2002 -- While the number of airline passengers is finally on the rise, companies that service airliners are stuck in the doldrums due to a lack of qualified mechanics willing to work in the aviation industry.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://Aerospace-Defense.frost.com), North American Commercial and Military Aircraft and Engine Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Markets, reveals that this industry generated revenues of $8.2 billion in 2001 and is projected to increase steadily to $9.3 billion by 2008.
"Public and private depot maintenance facilities are in competition for a limited pool of trained technical talent, and both are in competition with the large carrier airlines that maintain MRO capability," says Frost & Sullivan Senior Consulting Analyst Raymond Formanek.
The bulk of mechanics are lost to other industries, which are perceived to have a more promising career path and a highly dynamic work environment. However, higher pay appears to be the greatest attraction.
"Both seasoned personnel and recent graduates are abandoning the field for higher salaries in computers and automotive niches," says Formanek.
"Because the MRO aviation segment has traditionally experienced poor profit margins, significantly lower labor rates have been cited in this sector," adds Formanek. "In industries with more favorable margins the profit is passed along to the worker through higher wages."
Another reason for the shortage of qualified personnel in the aviation segment is the relatively limited public relations undertaken to educate prospective employees about the business while they are still in school. Other fields actively promote their own industry and invest in drawing the interest of skilled technicians as they near graduation.
"Due to the advent of the Internet, recent graduates can now more thoroughly research the options available to them and pursue possibilities that offer the most wage potential and career growth," says Formanek. "When listed with a number of other technical fields, aviation rarely comes up at the top of the list."
The following is a list of key industry participants: AAR Aircraft Services, Inc.; Aero Union Corp.; AeroThrust Corp.; Air Canada Technical Services; Air Creebec Engineering Services; Air Nova/Air Canada Regional, Inc.; AirKaman of Jacksonville, Inc.; America West Airlines; American Airlines Maintenance & Engineering; Amerijet International, Inc.; Associated Air Center/ Piedmont Hawthorne Holdings, Inc.; Avborne Heavy Maintenance, Inc.; Aviation Management Systems, Inc.; AVTEL Services, Inc.; Boeing Airplane Services; Canadian Regional Airlines, Ltd.; Clay Lacy Aviation, Inc.; Commodore Aviation, Inc.; Continental Airlines, Inc.; Dallas Airmotive; Dee Howard Aircraft Maintenance, L.P.; Delta Air Lines Technical Operations; Eagle One Aviation, Inc.; Evergreen Air Center, Inc.; FedEx Corp.; Field Aviation East, Ltd.; First Air Maintenance Services; GE Engine Services; Goodrich Aerospace Aviation Services; Hamilton Aviation; Innotech Execaire Aviation Group; Kelowna Flightcraft, Ltd.; Lockheed Martin Aircraft & Logistics Centers; M & M Aircraft Services; MTU Maintenance; Northwest Airlines, Inc.; Pemco Aviation Group, Inc.; Pratt & Whitney; Premier Turbines/Sabreliner Corp.; Raytheon Aircraft Integration Systems (L-3 Communications Integrated Systems); Rolls Royce Engine Services, Inc.; Skyservice FBO, Inc.; Southwest Airlines Co.; Spar Aerospace, Ltd; ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering, Inc.; Stambaugh Air Service, Inc.; Standard Aero, Ltd.; Timco; U.S. Airways, Inc.; United Air Lines, Inc.; and UPS, Inc.
