Reduce Operating Costs by Developing In-house Maintenance Facilities!

That both the ‘First Pandemic Wave’ last year, followed by the more devastating ‘Second Wave’ this year, have left the Indian Aviation Sector brutally hurt & crippled does not need any supporting documents & proof! For sheer survival, since at times, revenue-side may have serious limitations or be controlled hopelessly by such mis-happenings, one needs to introspect & see whether the expense-side in some areas could have been better managed with foresight. One of such areas, not essentially the only area, pertains to the sizable expenditure incurred on account of aircraft maintenance.

Since Independence in the year 1947, the grass-root level development of the Aviation Sector in India has received only secondary attention, in comparison to the ‘State Aviation Policies’ aggressively conceived and implemented by the present day aviation-technology-rich countries such as USA, USSR, Europe, Australia, Japan, Israel, Singapore, etc. In the recent past, after more than six to seven decades of attaining independence, there has been some awakening in the Indian establishment on this account, but even that is considered to be still well short of what it ought to have been! In the elapsed period, other big & small nations illustratively mentioned above have consolidated & thereafter, slowly but progressively, tightened their grip over basic/core aviation technologies, which now our country needs but has to bargain hard, & yet, in most cases, end up purchasing the essential requisites at an exorbitant cost. A typical case of exploitation by ‘The HAVES’ of ‘The HAVES NOT’!

Indian aviation sector consists of the ‘Biggies’ such as the ‘Scheduled ‘Airlines’ and the ‘Smallies’ such as the ‘Non-Scheduled /Charter/Private Operators’. All are quite fragmented till date, by & large driving their own isolated, independent agendas. This has been more marked in the recent past when survival of some or most of the individual entities has been at high stakes. There never was and likely, that in the near future there may not be, a “Unified National-level Platform” consisting of both the ‘Biggies’ and the ‘Smallies’ to jointly take up common vital issues that affect all aviation operators. Apparently the much-needed formal institution such as an ‘Aviation Think Tank’, seen as real operating functional entities in some aviationtechnology-rich countries to guide their national policies, does not exist here. As a small consolation, however, the ‘Smallies’ do have the “BAOA”(Business Aircraft Operators’ Association) as a, now more than decade-old, all-purpose singular platform, to selectively take up operational, maintenance, handling and miscellaneous issues affecting only the BA/GA operators, piece-meal taking up perceived problems for a possible resolution through formal representations & discussions with the country’s concerned civil aviation authorities.

“Aircraft Maintenance” in particular is a large expense component in actual cost of aircraft operations but mostly has not received the deep-rooted attention due to it, both through forward planning processes, blue-printed and financially controlled by the aircraft (fleet?) owners, as well as through drafting & issue of the aviation policies & planning at regional/ national level. The highly developed aviation production centres abroad, selling aircraft hardware & technologies to countries that did not strengthen and develop their own aviation infrastructures over decades, have progressively tightened their grip over the technology-deficient nations, dictating most unreasonable prices & terms for sale of maintenance-related aviation goods & services, without which continued operation of the aircraft fleet on hand, both of the Biggies and the Smallies, cannot be sustained.

Following suggestion is made for due consideration by the aviation authorities at the apex national level: Aircraft, Engines and Accessories import deals may, every now and then, run into millions or billions of dollars in one go. The permission to import such high value Aircraft, Engines and Accessories, in deals negotiated by the interested Scheduled/Non-Scheduled Operators, is finally given by the Government of India through its designated agencies. As a pre-condition to any such high-value import, the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of the aircraft /engine(s)/accessories, as the case may be, must commit in the sales contract/agreement to plough-back a part of the transaction value in setting up reasonable quantum of the supporting maintenance facilities in India. This would be mutually defined in the shape of a mandatory ‘Offset Clause’ in these high value contracts. This course of action, involving inter-action with well-entrenched entities at international level, is likely to be initially resisted, but is considered most essential to be imposed in the long-term national interests. This may also, to some extent, slow down some processes & approvals in the initial stages, but as the saying goes, ultimately ‘Slow & Steady Wins the Race!’ Over a period of time, even drop by drop, one day into the future the bucket may be quarter- or half- or even nearly-full. The indigenous expertise so gained, through setting up of such in-house obligatory maintenance facilities established over a period of time, would prove to be an invaluable national asset and would undoubtedly result in not only the lowering of the overall cost of operations of aircraft but also reduce their prolonged downtime due to the current foreign-technology-dependent maintenance issues.

JAI HIND!

AVM S.S. Chauhan (Retd)
PVSM AVSM VSM
President, BAOA.