FEAM Chief Strategy Officer Talks Maintenance for Cargo Planes and Expanding in a Pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic spurred many Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) companies to diversify beyond serving passenger aircraft fleets, which are only now beginning to rebound from a pandemic that crippled domestic and global air travel, costing the industry more than $200 billion in net losses, according to the International Air Transport Association.

One MRO demonstrating both resiliency and smarts in these turbulent times is FEAM, the largest provider of aircraft line maintenance services in the United States. The family-run company employs more than 1,300 aircraft maintenance technicians and engineers in 35 locations across the U.S., UK and Europe. Celebrating 30 years in business this year, FEAM currently operates two hangar facilities, one near its Miami, Fla., headquarters and the other at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – strategically located by major e-commerce air hubs for Amazon and DHL.

Pivoting to serve freight clients during the global pandemic was a strategy that continues to pay off for FEAM, noted Dan Allawat, the company’s veteran chief strategy officer. Allawat first joined FEAM as an avionics mechanic in 1997. In a far-ranging conversation, he discussed his company’s big bet on cargo transport, its international expansion plans, and how investing in innovation is key to attracting technical talent in today’s challenging labor market.

Avionics International: How has the impact of COVID-19 on airlines and the broader aviation industry changed the type of business model some airlines are employing or using for aircraft maintenance?

Allawat: The industry was hit very hard on a lot of different fronts. At the outset of the pandemic most airlines were parking aircraft and trying to find ways to gain revenue from those aircraft that were still in service. Since cargo remained in high demand throughout the pandemic, many airlines were using passenger aircraft to fly freight, known in the industry as preighters.

There was also a shift in focus on domestic travel over international as domestic flying emerged well in advance of domestic. This meant extended parking of wide-body aircraft typically used on international routes. In some cases, airlines chose to retire large fleets of wide-body aircraft altogether. This has resulted in a larger focus on narrow-body aircraft, particularly on the domestic front.

Has the pandemic changed demand in terms of the type aircraft you’re most commonly servicing, or the types of maintenance services you’re most commonly providing?

Allawat: Our core business is line maintenance. At the beginning of the pandemic, our strategy was to focus first on those air carriers operating cargo aircraft, particularly those flying for Amazon and DHL. We always had a significant cargo customer base, so this was a natural evolution. [Focusing on cargo] has helped us not only survive but grow. And that's mainly driven by all the e-commerce demand.

Secondly, we targeted domestic air carriers, which pre-pandemic were not a significant part of our business. We now provide service to regional passenger air carriers and low-cost passenger air carriers at several airports throughout the U.S., and it is a very strong second to cargo for us.

Lastly, we are now beginning to see our international customers that transit the U.S. starting to come back so we are happy for that business to return.

Are older commercial aircraft finding new life as cargo planes?

Allawat: Yes. The pandemic forced a lot of airlines to park airplanes and ultimately retire whole fleets. There's a huge market for certain aircraft to be converted to cargo airplanes, with the Boeing 767 probably the most popular. In the freighter world, there's still a long life for a lot of airplanes. It's not uncommon to have cargo airplanes that are 25 or 30 years old.

What newer, innovative aircraft maintenance technologies are you deploying right now?

Allawat: We’ve recently began using the Microsoft HoloLens, which are mixed reality smart glasses that allow us to provide remote access to FEAM technical experts to assist in troubleshooting our customers’ aircraft. This technology puts the remote technician planeside along with the mechanic actually touching the aircraft. The remote technician can see exactly what the mechanic at the aircraft is seeing and can provide instruction and guidance within the mechanic's field of vision. This product really allows us to leverage our most seasoned and experienced personnel's knowledge throughout our network of 35+ line maintenance stations.

We’ve also been working with Boeing Charlie Works, a division of Boeing that focuses on troubleshooting chronic aircraft discrepancies, particularly on aging aircraft. Their guidance and recommendations led us to invest in a suite of emerging technology tooling and testing devices that allow quicker fault isolation of aircraft discrepancies.

What disruptive new technologies or business models could change the way aircraft maintenance is provided in the near future?

Allawat: Aside from devices such as Microsoft HoloLens, drones are beginning to find their way into aircraft hangars to aid in inspecting aircraft. Aside from the efficiencies gained with technological advances, this industry is suffering from a talent and experience standpoint. Being able to leverage our experienced staff, even if remotely in a virtual setting, or being able to use technology like drones to free up an inspector who might be used elsewhere on the aircraft, are all ways emerging technology will help mitigate the talent and experience problems we face.

You employ a very large technical workforce, but everyone is hurting for talent these days. How is FEAM addressing the workforce challenge?

Allawat: We're blessed to have quite a large group of technical staff who have been here a long time. But this industry is struggling for mechanics. We have churn especially among newer mechanics, who tend to gravitate toward airline jobs because of perceived flight benefits. We are continually figuring out what will attract people not only to our company, but to the industry. Part of it is technology. Adding emerging technology tooling and ideology is probably more attractive to today’s youth who are searching for a career path.

How has your volume of work, from line checks to on-wing AOG and technical services, changed over the last 3-6 months? Do you expect your work volume to change this year?

Allawat: FEAM has enjoyed significant growth in our line maintenance business throughout the pandemic. This has been driven largely by the pandemic-spurred growth of e-commerce, driving the need to freighter aircraft and the supporting maintenance needs therein. And again, we’ve seen a strong rebound in domestic flying that has provided growth opportunities for FEAM. In 2021, FEAM turned more than 100,000 flights for our customers across our U.S. network. Our AOG team support more than 350 AOG events. We fully expect these growth trends to continue in 2022 and beyond.

What is FEAM's strategic growth strategy for 2022?

Allawat: Near the end of 2021 we acquired a small MRO based in the UK with several line maintenance locations within the UK, and one in Leipzig, Germany. The MRO, BOS Aerospace, Ltd (BOSA), also provides component repair and overhaul services. We are currently investing in resources to grow that business throughout the UK and Europe. We’ll continue to look at additional [expansion] opportunities throughout the EMEA region.

We’re also having ongoing partnership discussions so FEAM can expand its service offers beyond line maintenance. We recently entered into a Retrofit, Modification, and Upgrade (RMU) agreement with Honeywell that will allow FEAM to offer Honeywell products to our current and potential customers, as well as modification/installation services for those who purchase these products through FEAM.

What is driving your push into Europe?

Allawat: Our expansion into Europe in one sense is a natural evolution of our growth. Many of our U.S. customers, both domestic and international, transit airports throughout Europe. We will work with our existing customers to identify their needs. We will also keep a close eye on the expansion of e-commerce throughout Europe to see where those opportunities may lead us.