Month: April 2026

In the March issue of Freighter Trends, Pascal Parant, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer, and Valentina Pilshchikova, Engines and Parts Sales Trading Manager at Vallair, discuss the expanding teardown market amid supply chain constraints.

Ongoing supply chain disruptions and long OEM lead times are driving strong demand for aircraft teardown, making USM a critical source of parts for airlines and MROs, Pascal shares.

“USM is recognised as one of the only viable alternatives to supply chain disruptions, price increases, and value generation through teardown activity. However, the lack of suitable aircraft for disassembly is constraining the market.”

Competition for mid-life aircraft is intensifying, Valentina adds, as companies seek teardown assets, with limited supply boosting prices.

“Competition is increasing for mid-life narrowbody aircraft suitable for teardown. Aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320-200 are being operated longer, keeping demand for teardown-derived parts strong.”

To read the full article, click here.

Article courtesy of Freighter Trends

In the March issue of MRO Management, Valentina Pilshchikova, Engines and Parts Sales Trading Manager at Vallair, discusses supply chain and workforce pressures facing the teardown sector.

Pilshchikova shares that workforce shortages remain a major challenge, pushing the industry towards automation, while highlighting the continued importance of human experience and knowledge transfer.

“Workforce shortages push us to transform the way we work, to move away from manual and adopt more automated processes. However, when it comes to spotting tricky issues or making the final decision – human expertise remains pre-eminent.”

“Vallair is investing heavily in internal training initiatives. Our highly skilled senior teams in the aerostructures and engine shops are committed not only to delivering efficient turnaround times, but also sharing their extensive experience with the next generation.”

To read the full article, click here.

Article courtesy of MRO Management.

In the March issue of AviTrader MRO360°, Sergey Starkov, Technical Director at Vallair, offered advice on managing aircraft lease transitions.

The operative word is organisation. “Transitions require significant teamwork between commercial, legal, technical and financial departments. Additionally, in recent years, transition records requirements have increased. Preparation is therefore paramount.

Lessors favour back-to-back leases and will often match redelivery requirements at the end of one lease to the delivery conditions of the next one. So, it is prudent for operators to produce high-quality documentation which has the correct data and is formatted correctly. This increases the chances that the lessor will accept redelivery quickly, which prevents airlines from having to continue to pay for the aircraft in the event of a delay.”

Operators must also factor in the time and work needed should there be any planned or unforeseen MRO requirements.

Whether operators manage transitions themselves or subcontract to experienced third-parties, Starkov’s instructions are clear: “Start everything as soon as possible.”

To read the full article, click here.

Article courtesy of AviTrader.

In the February edition of AviTrader MRO360°, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer at Vallair, Pascal Parant, speaks to David Dundas about recent structural changes in global air cargo demand that have made passenger-to-freighter conversions more attractive.

Parant shares that while demand driven by e-commerce and long-haul international cargo remains solid, wide body freighters are not readily available on the market and prices are high.

“There are simply not enough new-build freighters being produced to meet demand, and lease rates are extremely high. So converted freighters will continue to play a major role for many years. Conversion allows full utilisation of an aircraft’s economic life.”

To read the full article, click here.

Article courtesy of AviTrader.