International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
Improving the Quality of Vocational and Technical High Schools With Aircraft
Maintenance Field
Serdar Dalkılıç a*
a
Anadolu University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Abstract
As a consequence of the growth in global aviation market, aircraft operators in Turkey are to increase the
number of aircraft that they operate. The MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) companies in Turkey do
serve not only to national airlines but also to foreign airlines. Furthermore they have an increasing share on the
global MRO market. The demand to qualified and certified maintenance staff has been covered by approved
Aircraft Maintenance Training Organizations such as the related departments of Universities. But the rapid
growth of the MRO market and the increased costs lead MRO organizations to employ staff, who should be
qualified but not necessarily certified (no Aircraft Maintenance License), for performing minor maintenance
tasks.
The vocational and technical high schools with aircraft maintenance field in Turkey are approved neither by
EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) nor by national aviation authority, DGCA (Directorate General Civil
Aviation). However the graduates of these schools are potential employees of MRO organizations seeking noncertified
staff. With or without certification, quality is the major concern in aviation market. The improved
quality of the students will result in their acceptance by the market and this could be achieved by improving the
quality of the schools, therefore the teachers.
Keywords:
INTRODUCTION
As a consequence of global economic growth and increasing urbanization, air travel remains a growing
market. The two biggest commercial aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus market research between 2012
and 2031 predicts a continuing growth. For example 20 year world annual traffic growth of 4.7% is forecast by
Airbus (Airbus S.A.S., 2012, s.12) and 5.0% by Boeing (Boeing, 2012, s.4). The number of passengers traveled
by air was above 3 billion in 2011 and is forecast to be above 7.5 billion in 2031. Passenger aircraft fleet (only
commercial aircraft with seats > 100) was 15,555 in 2011 and is predicted to be 32,551 in 2031 which means an
increase of 109%. Similar increase in freighter aircraft (>10t) fleet is also predicted, i.e. 2938 aircraft in 2031.
Aircraft need for both fleet growth and for replacement of older aircraft, which will be retired by 2031, will
result in the delivery of 27,347 passenger aircraft and 851 freighters between 2012 and 2031 (Airbus S.A.S.,
2012, s.12). Boeing reports that aircraft fleet including regional jets and freighters was 19,890 in 2011 and is
forecast to be 39,780 in 2031. 34.000 new aircraft deliveries between 2102-2031 are predicted. The market value
of these aircraft by 2010 catalog prices is $4,470 billion (Boeing, 2012, s.3). It should be remembered that
acquisition cost is only 25% of Life Cycle Cost of an airplane. In 2012 active aircraft fleet generated an MRO
(Maintenance Repair Overhaul) spend of approximately $53 billion, which is expected to grow to approximately
$76 billion by 2021 (Steward, 2012, s.36). New airplane deliveries by regions are summarized in the table 1
below.
Table 1. New airplane deliveries by regions (Boeing, 2012, s.3)
Asia North Europe Middle Latin CIS Africa World
Pacific America
East America
Large 320 40 200 190 0 30 10 790
Twin aisle 3,230 1,320 1,440 1,100 340 250 270 7,950
Single aisle 7,990 5,040 5,800 1,060 2,080 700 570 23,240
Regional jets 490 890 320 20 90 160 50 2,020
Total 12,030 7,290 7,760 2,370 2,510 1,140 900 34,000
E-mail address: sdalkilic@anadolu.edu.tr
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