Prince Aviation Calls On MRO Providers to Cooperate

Aircraft operators and independent maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers need to cooperate more to make the best of the bottlenecks that constrain support services, according to Prince Aviation CEO Srđan Kragojević. Speaking at the recent Biz Av Maintenance conference in London, the Serbian business aviation services group's founder said that companies "need to cooperate more rather than try to keep everything for ourselves” to get work completed in a timely way. 

According to Kragojević, there are three main causes of delays that are largely beyond the control of MRO groups: the ongoing global parts shortage; aircraft manufacturers focusing on new production instead of aftermarket options; and a shrinking pool of experienced maintenance technicians. “We are capable of building hangars and buying equipment, but there is still no artificial intelligence that can replace the technician,” he stated. 

Belgrade-based Prince Aviation operates a fleet of eight aircraft including a mix of Cessna Citation XLS, XLS+, CJ and M2 models, as well as a Dassault Falcon. The company, which also has a based in the Slovenian capital Ljubliana, also runs an independent Part 145 maintenance organization, providing support to other operators.

Kragojević urged maintenance providers to set realistic expectation with customers based on their level of staffing and ability to meet work schedules. "The right time for pressure is the preparation process, when we are building the workscope," he told the conference. "The wrong moment, for example, is when we find corrosion. You achieve nothing with pressure at that point. There is corrosion, the OEM has to be contacted, and it is a totally different process. Very often the owner or operator ends up killing the messenger."

Unrealistic Commitments

In his view, MRO providers should avoid promising unrealistic timelines for work that result in a customer being disappointed and inconvenienced. He also warned against deferring work for subsequent shop visits, which he said can lead to "more surprises in the future."

Kragojević said MRO companies need to apply more pressure on OEMs to better address the parts shortages. "They need to be a little less controlling about the process and [do] more to support it," he commented. "Their main focus is on production and there is not so much focus on the aftermarket.

The Prince Aviation leader also wants improved working relationships between continuing airworthiness management organizations (CAMOs) and the MRO providers, commenting that the two sides are often "divided" and communicating poorly. "Having an engineer or technical person from the operator in the MRO, tracking the whole process and being proactive makes a real difference," he said. "Sometimes you wait a whole day before a finding is signed off simply because you cannot reach the owner."