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Aviation maintenance companies feel a pinch

Downturn’s effects ripple as corporations slash business travel

Stevens Aviation Inc. mechanic Tom South polishes the scratches from a window on this King Air 200 at the Dayton International Airport.

Ty Greenlees Stevens Aviation Inc. mechanic Tom South polishes the scratches from a window on this King Air 200 at the Dayton International Airport.

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 11:28 PM Saturday, September 5, 2009

DAYTON — The recession has taken a bite out of revenues for aviation maintenance companies, particularly those that service planes operated for corporations that have slashed business travel.

The maintenance companies are counting on a loyal customer base, an eventual economic recovery and new sales initiatives for a rebound. These companies do aircraft inspections and provide an array of other services for aircraft owners and operators, including upgrades of electronic systems, repainting, interior redesigns and engine overhauls.

“We’re probably 35 percent below what we were the previous year,” said Mick Waltz, service manager at Stevens Aviation Inc., at Dayton International Airport. “It’s economy-driven: Costs of fuel, business is slow, flights are down.

“We’ve been very fortunate, with our customer base. It has been steady, but it is down,” Waltz said.

Stevens Aviation services corporate jet and turboprop aircraft, along with Beechcraft and Cessna planes.

At Commander Aero Inc. located at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, business is down about 20 percent from a year ago, said John Bosch, president and chief executive officer. He noted, though, that his company’s 2008 revenues were up about 30 percent from 2007.

Providing maintenance for Cirrus aircraft, as an authorized service center for that manufacturer, is a growing part of the business along with providing aircraft avionics upgrades, Bosch said.

“People who come in for inspections are often wowed by the advancements in avionics,” Bosch said.

Those include weather-tracking systems, navigation and communications equipment and systems designed to avoid collisions with other planes. Commander Aero also services — as its name implies — Aero Commander aircraft.

Bosch’s company is taking advantage of worldwide online access to offer maintenance services to new customers internationally, he said.

The economic downturn has hit aviation hard nationwide. Shipments of new planes for general aviation were down by 46 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Because of the global recession, industry consultant AeroStrategy has projected the total market for commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul in 2009 at $41 billion, down by 7 percent from the peak in 2007. The recession has resulted in contraction of some aircraft fleets, reducing those maintenance opportunities, AeroStrategy found.

Stevens Aviation has done some cost-cutting to ride out the recession, but has avoided laying off any employees, Waltz said.

“We’ve been through this in aviation, many times. ... You have peaks and valleys,” Waltz said. “I’m very confident that we’re going to come out of it.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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