In a highly competitive jet-engine market, aviation services are flying high. Services and maintenance, traditionally considered in the industry to be the “aftermarket” of engine sales, formed 63% of GE Aviation sales in 2017. It’s easy to imagine the commercial aircraft-engine market as cyclical — with an outstanding engine such as the GE GEnx-1B that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner experiencing a rush of orders before service contracts rev up. But there are other market factors driving demand for efficient, targeted service packages.
