Commercial aviation supply chain issues have not been resolved. Many OEMs can’t deliver piece parts and it is impacting the airlines. As it has in the past, this creates an opportunity for those in the alternative material space.
In speaking with numerous component repair facilities, alternative materials (PMA & DER) are being approved by non-traditional users, in as little as 24-48 hours just to get their units repaired and back in service. This is significant when you consider many airlines routinely take 6-12 months (or more), to approve a PMA.
The PMA/DER opportunity has been around for over 20 years. Yet, as a percentage of the market, it remains relatively small. Times like these create generational growth opportunities.
There are 3 primary reasons to adopt PMA:
- Price
- Availability
- Product Improvement
Historically, price has been the leading driver for the adoption of alternative materials. However, during periods of supply chain disruption, availability can surpass price and the alternative material supplier can gain market share one part at a time.
While airlines are recovering from a staffing perspective, many are still shorthanded, so once these alternative parts are approved, the PMA supplier just needs to focus on providing a high level of service and they can usually retain the sales for those parts.
There are different levels of maturity within the alternative parts supplier market. Some saw this coming and took steps to capitalize on it by building up their inventory during the pandemic and accelerating new product development efforts, while others may not have been able to do so. Every industry wide event creates new winners.
While it may be too soon to tell which individual players emerge stronger, it should be the alternative parts markets turn in the winner’s circle!
