Airlines are dismantling nearly-new A320neos for parts. Not because the planes are broken. Because the engines are worth more than the airframes.Here's what's driving this:
1. The Supply Crisis:
- 17,000 aircraft backlog (12-14 years of production)
- $11B+ in airline losses from supply chain bottlenecks (IATA/Oliver Wyman)
- Average fleet age jumped from 11.1 to 15.1 years since 2019
- OEM parts backlogs measured in months, sometimes years
2. The Valuation Surge:
- AAR Corp P/E ratio: 103
- MRO operators can't keep up with demand
The Dangerous Incentive:
When supply is this constrained and Aircraft On Ground situations this costly, the pressure to source parts "by any means necessary" becomes overwhelming.
Aviathrust recently warned:
"Supply chain pressure increases the risk of bogus parts entering circulation."
MRO operators are caught between impossible choices:
- Wait months for certified OEM parts while aircraft sit grounded
- Source from secondary markets with authentication risks
- Keep aging fleets airworthy under intense time pressure
This is exactly the environment where counterfeit parts thrive. Traditional verification, paperwork trails, supplier certifications, visual inspections, wasn't designed for crisis-mode sourcing.The question isn't whether counterfeit parts are entering the system. It's how many, and how do we stop it when every day an aircraft sits grounded costs operators $10,000-$150,000?
We need authentication methods that work even under pressure. Technology that makes it impossible for bogus parts to pass as genuine, regardless of how desperate the supply situation gets.
What's the MRO community doing to manage this risk?
