The shortage of MRO capacity to restore jet engines is weighing on airlines to the point where some may not be able to mount additional capacity during peak periods. Speaking during a panel session on engine leasing at the recent Airline Economics Growth Frontiers event in Tokyo, Clover Aviation Capital executive director and chief technical officer Gareth Delany noted that the lack of MRO capacity, especially for engine restorations, was having a real impact on carriers in Japan. "I have been visiting airlines here in Japan and it’s the top topic of conversation, it's causing huge problems," he says. "One airline told me of a huge percentage of their fleet that will be grounded for Golden Week as a result of engines off wing. That's in the new technology sector." Other lessors mentioned Indian carrier Go First, which has been struggling to deploy its full fleet of Airbus A320neos while it waits for repairs to its Pratt & Whitney PW1200G engines. Fleets data shows that 27 of its 50 A320neos are showing as stored. Delany says that it is up to the engine manufacturers to communicate how they plan to solve the reliability issues that new engines have faced, and how they will increase MRO capacity as they largely control the aftermarket for those engines. Ascend Consultancy global head of consultancy, Rob Morris, acknowledged that while the issues are particularly acute for some carreirs, past experience shows that the engines will become more reliable in time. "There is always a development cycle where we have new types, there's always been issues then we have first upgrade, second upgrade and then we have maturity," he says. As well as the new generation issues, the lack of MRO capacity is also impacting older engines, such as the International Aero Engines V2500 and CFM International CFM56, which Delaney says are struggling to get a maintenance slot if they are required to come off-wing, potentially grounding aircraft for an extended period of time. "Seven months is an average for time off-wing, but that doesn't really reflect the bigger problems [for airlines] of having an engine off-wing for a year," says Delany. Rolls-Royce & Partners Finance managing director Bobby Janagan, agreed, saying: " The industry need to bring back reliability and the shop slots, so that means the MRO capacity needs to increase a lot."

Airbus and Pratt & Whitney Canada have teamed up with Montreal-based sustainable aviation fuel company SAF+ Consortium to study the feasibility of a SAF production plant in Quebec. Supported by Quebec's government, the partners will concentrate on the possibility of developing a commercial plant that could produce up to 100 million litres of power-to-liquid SAF from captured CO2 with green hydrogen, the European airframer says. Its Canadian subsidiary will act as partner in the project, dubbed CADAQ-100. Airbus says it will conduct test flights on an A220 with fuel blends up to full SAF, as part of the effort. Pratt & Whitney's PW1500G is the sole engine available on the A220. The aircraft is produced at Airbus Canada's Mirabel facility, outside Montreal, and at the airframer's US assembly line in Mobile, Alabama. The project participants and government of Quebec have jointly committed C$17 million ($13 million) to the research."Collaboration between public and private sectors is critical to achieving our goals, so we welcome this opportunity and the continued support of the government of Quebec to help expand SAF research and production capabilities in the region," P&WC vice-president of engineering Edward Hoskin states. SAF+ Consortium chief executive Jean Paquin asserts that the collaboration "will help accelerate our vision to transform Montreal into a North American sustainable aviation hub, something which we have always known could only be achieved as a cross-industry effort". He adds: "With multiple purchase commitments from Canadian airlines in place, alongside our ambition to achieve net-zero emissions, investment in SAF production infrastructure is urgently needed." Airbus Canada chief executive Benoit Schultz describes the plan to build a Canadian sustainable fuel ecosystem with SAF+ Consortium as key milestone the airframer's environmental efforts.

The acting administrator of the US Federal Aviation Administration Billy Nolen plans to step down from the position during the upcoming northern summer, saying "it is time for a new captain to guide the FAA". "I told [Department of Transportation Secretary Pete] Buttigieg and notified the White House that I will depart as a new nominee is named this summer," Nolen says in a 21 April letter to colleagues. "I have given everything to this agency, and now it’s time to do the same for my family, who have sacrificed so much and supported me during my time at the FAA." Nolen's departure comes as the FAA is facing several challenges, including a recent series of near-catastrophic events on runways at US airports, as well as an 11 January Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) outage that briefly grounded thousands of domestic departures. He commenced as head of the agency on 1 April 2022 following the departure of Steve Dickson departed halfway through his five-year term int he role that began in 2019. The Department of Transportation and the White House are searching for a full-time nominee to lead the FAA, which must be confirmed by the Senate. Last month, Phil Washington, US president Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the FAA, withdrew from the confirmation process amid an expected lack of approval votes from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Nolen continues in his 21 April letter: "I’m immensely proud of what we accomplished together. The majority of certification reform is done. Rules that languished for years, like more robust flight attendant rest rules and SMS for airports, are final. Secondary barrier for flight decks and SMS for manufacturers are nearing completion. "We will see eVTOLs certified in just a few years, instead of decades. And we have not been afraid to act to preserve the safest era in aviation history but to also say that our current record is not good enough. We should build a system so safe it doesn’t require heroic intervention." US secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg states of Nolen's departure: "Billy is a tremendous leader, a true expert, and a dedicated public servant. He has kept safety as the FAA’s north star through one of the most complex periods in modern aviation. "I can speak for everyone at DOT in saying that his skill and expertise are a great asset to this department, and will continue to be as FAA prepares for its upcoming leadership transition."