Business aviation manufacturers are continuing to battle a malfunctioning supply chain that is “not able to maintain the capacity and integrity” required to meet the sector’s growth.
That was the blunt message from Michael Amalfitano, chief executive of Embraer Executive Jets, speaking at the NBAA-BACE ‘newsmakers lunch’ yesterday.
Pointing to a sector that has expanded annually by around 15% since the Covid-19 pandemic, he says suppliers “have not been able to keep up with that capacity growth”.
In addition, “there are too many failures of parts,” he says, blaming both problems on a loss of experienced staff in the wake of the pandemic.
But Amalfitano is not alone in holding that view. “We have seen a lot of craftsmanship leaving the industry after Covid, and there has clearly been some knowledge transfer that did not happen,” says Eric Martel, Bombardier chief executive.
This has caused “quality escapes”, across the supply chain, from tier five suppliers all the way up to tier ones.
“It doesn’t have the capacity to support the growth,” adds Ron Draper, chief executive of Textron Aviation. “There are additional choke points.”
While he says workforce issues have been one cause, consolidation among suppliers is another.
As a result, all three airframers have had to take a more hands-on approach, seconding staff to suppliers to anticipate problems or deal with them earlier.
Despite these issues, and ongoing trade and geopolitical uncertainty, “we continue to see growth”, says Martel.
“All the economic indicators are good, whether you look at the backlog levels of the OEMs, flying activity, or the used market,” adds Draper.
“All the indicators are healthy and I think all the OEMs haven’t overproduced in this cycle, so supply and demand are aligned and the market remains strong.”
