KUALA LUMPUR: Aviation industry's original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must take responsibility over the shortage of aircraft components and engine spare parts that has forced airlines to ground some of their airplanes, said Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail.
He said airlines are facing maintenance challenges as most are flying ageing fleet, including MAG's subsidiary Malaysia Airlines Bhd while the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities globally do not have any available slots due to the high demand for aircraft maintenance.
"For example, engines that are designed to reach 20,000-21,000 cycles are now showing symptoms of fatigue at around 18,000 cycles. Do I wait until the engine collapse? I don't. So, I have to put a hard stop. When I put a hard stop, the aircraft cannot fly.
"So, am I being punished for being proactive? I shouldn't (be), right?" the former Malaysia Airlines pilot told Business Times in an interview recently.
Izham said airlines are also facing issues with the availability of aircraft rotable components and the quality of the parts after repair.
"The rotables coming back to us are not timely, the quality that came back to us…" he said, adding that some of the rotables parts still have issues after repair even though the components have gotten the green light from the OEMs to be re-installed back into airplanes.
An airline's inventory generally includes about 70 per cent consumable parts, and 30 per cent rotable parts.
Rotables are parts that can be repaired by OEMs or their approved third-party workshop. The parts can also be used numerous times.
Some examples of rotable parts are airframe, landing gear, fuel pumps, air filters, valves and avionic units.
Consumable parts have a wear and tear lifespan and are meant to be used once. A new part is needed to replace the worn-out consumable parts.
One of Malaysia Airlines' A350 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent AWB84 engine and a few of its A330-300s which are using Pratt & Whitney PW4168A engines are believed to be awaiting spare parts from the OEMs.
Rolls-Royce said on Aug 29 that the company was impacted by constraint in the supply chain like others in the aviation industry.
"This means parts are taking longer to become available. We're working closely with our customer to complete this engine repair as soon as possible," a Rolls-Royce spokesperson told Business Times when queried.
Pratt & Whitney also said the constrained availability of parts and labour in the supply chain continue to be a challenge for the entire industry.
"Pratt & Whitney remains focused on making sure the supply chain is healthy to support our customers."
"We're embedded with key suppliers critical to our performance to help accelerate the delivery of parts, while we continue to qualify and support for additional suppliers for key programs," the engine-maker spokesperson said.
Izham said MAG's maintenance programme today is maintaining its ageing fleet as delivery of its new airplanes are deferred.
Malaysia Airlines ordered 25 new Boeing B737 MAX 8 in 2017 as part of its fleet renewal programme.
Seven years after the order, the national carrier only has four out of the 25. Two B737 MAX 8s were received in 2023 and another two in early 2024.
In 2022, MAG ordered 20 widebody Airbus A330neo (new engine option) to replace its ageing A330ceo (current engine option) fleet.
The delivery of its first A330neo was rescheduled to October from September this year due to failure of seat tests.
MAG expects to have five A330neos in its fleet by the first quarter of 2025.
The group is yet to announce its second batch of new aircraft orders. It has an option to exercise another A330neo for its widebody fleet while for its narrowbody fleet, MAG is mulling either the A320, A321 or B737 MAX 8.
Izham could not delve into the new order details but he shared that he would need MAG shareholders' approval for the type of aircraft that the group plans to purchase.
The expected timeframe for the announcement would be in the fourth quarter 2024.
When asked what took MAG long to place an order for its second batch of new aircraft, Izham said the group has to first focus on making money and re-setting its strategy.
"Over the years…this is not blaming anyone but the journey of Malaysia Airlines has been chequered. We don't have money, strategy maybe. I don't want to blame my predecessors. They have their own thought process."
"But Malaysia Airlines was not able to invest fast in new airplanes. We were trying to survive, let alone buying planes. We were trying to survive," said Izham who started his career with Malaysia Airlines in 1979.