Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) has adapted to post-Covid supply-chain challenges amid continued uncertainty over when the situation will “normalise”.
Speaking at the Paris air show on 16 June, AFI KLM E&M executive vice-president Anne Brachet said the business is preparing to announce a new “collaboration” on spare engine supply as it seeks to offset the impact of the supply-chain challenge with fresh investments.
Those challenges have seen the Air France-KLM unit take on more repair work alongside its usual line maintenance activities, to address issues with commercial engines in particular.
Brachet ultimately wants to see the industry go “back to basics”, where OEMs, MROs and airlines are able to concentrate on their core tasks without having to grapple with supply-chain uncertainties. But that equilibrium is still some way off, she suggests.
“Supply is not at the normal level,” she states. “We have learned how to manage that.
“We invest a lot and of course that has an impact on the cost for the airline at the end.
“But the situation is far from being normal and that is something that is at the top of our negotiation with key suppliers.”
Brachet notes that while the supply-chain situation is “better than it was a year ago”, there is a lack of clarity on when pre-Covid levels of service will be achievable.
Indeed, she notes that there are employees at the business today who joined in the post-Covid period and have never experienced “normality”.
“What is the normal performance for them? They’ve never seen a normal performance,” she states.
“When are we going to be back to that?” Brachet asks. “Today, I don’t know.”
The key for AFI KLM E&M, she says, is “agility”, investment and training staff to handle the associated challenges.
Attracting and retaining those employees is an ongoing challenge for the business, Brachet notes, amid a “fight for talent”.
