The days of owning everything in your hangar are long gone. Looking for efficiencies and focusing on doing one job extremely well have lead to profitable specialisations and created many new niche markets in the world of aviation. One of such examples is engine stands lease services.
Aircraft engines maintenance normally has the most significant costs and trying to optimise a very small part of it – having a specific engine stand at the right place on the right moment – might seem a bit trivial. However, when you get into the details, it all makes sense.
Each type of engine needs its stand, and each stand is large, up to several tones weighting piece of equipment, that is highly uncomfortable to have around. MROs, leasing companies and airlines have two options:
- Fill up their inventory with seldom used, but important tools or
- Lease required engine stands only for the periods of maintenance
The first option has its advantages – mainly, leaving you ready for all the unplanned emergencies. However, it is questionable what impact such ownership has for efficiency. „When considering the launch of EngineStands.com we have implemented careful research by talking with clients, analysing our data and looking deep into the trends of the aviation industry. We concluded that investment in a full scope of engine stands inventory is highly overpriced and far away from efficiency. Around the globe, our clients only try to get rid of everything that they don’t use frequently enough and follow the general rule that if they can survive without owning it – they don’t buy it.“, – says Tadas Piekus, Head of Business Development of EngineStands.com.
If leasing engine stands is better, how it can be managed efficiently?
Costs of engine stand leasing combine two main elements – the term of lease and shipping costs. Lease companies sometimes give fixed lease terms, where you have to book the stand for 30, 60, 90 and so on days, but this is a minor issue as it doesn’t have a significant impact for an overall cost.
What has a major significance, however, is shipping costs. As it was already mentioned, dimensions of engine stands are much larger than typical cargo deliveries allow, so they automatically get into a higher price range. Then, if it is an emergency, and the engine stand needs to be delivered as soon as possible, it would add another extra to shipping costs. Depending on existing supply, the distance may also have an impact – the closer the stand is, the easier and faster it will be to transport it. Finally, the overall price can vary up to four times depending on how logistics are managed.
„Coming from locatory.com gives us an advantage in knowing a lot about how the shipping process works, having a necessary experience required for managing delivery costs and established partnerships with shipping companies. The same goes for the overall process of leasing. Knowing habits of our clients allows us to understand their challenges and work towards finding needed solutions“, – says Tadas Piekus.
Whenever you can, plan
Requesting for an engine stand in advance helps to plan for its timely delivery. The leasing partner can find better shipment options and secure a better-located stand. Even if leasing comes as an emergency option, have a list of trusted providers at hand, so you don’t waste time by looking for them online, learning about prices and negotiation basic contract details.
Pay attention to logistics
When ordering your engine stand, inquire about logistics partner. Usually, the shipment is insured on the side of the provider, but if anything happens you still lose the most valuable asset – time. Different suppliers might also offer different shipping conditions or don’t include it in the offering at all, which can have an impact on how quickly you get the delivery of stand and how expensive it gets.
