ARSA’s “Lift the Ban Survey” was open to all aerospace companies from Sept. 28-Oct. 26. Companies were requested to complete one survey each. The final results yield important insights on the FAA foreign repair station certification moratorium’s impact on aerospace companies. In total, there were 36 respondents (including 25 U.S.-based companies).

Among the findings—

• The ban is hurting small to medium-sized businesses. Half (50 percent) of respondent companies employ fewer than 500 workers. Of these, an overwhelming majority (83 percent) are seeking to open new foreign repair stations.
• Companies want to tap into rapidly expanding international aviation markets. Three quarters of respondents (75 percent) indicated their company has an application for FAA foreign repair station certification pending or will submit an application when the moratorium is removed.
• U.S. companies are losing revenue. U.S.-based companies responding to the survey report they are losing more than $18 million in combined revenues annually because of the FAA’s inability to certificate new foreign repair stations.
• The ban is stifling job growth. Over half of respondents (55 percent) said their companies would hire new U.S.-based employees if they could obtain FAA foreign repair station certification. Two companies anticipated hiring more than 100 new U.S.-based employees.
• Anonymous comments from U.S.-based companies tell a more complete story on the ban’s impact—
  • “How is it that our industry continues to gain more and more roadblocks that hinder our ability to do business? Overseas business is the bulk of aviation maintenance growth to look forward to for the next 20 – 30 years. Asian business alone is going to require more training, maintenance, aircraft, materials, etc. than they can handle. Additionally, our ability to export becomes exponentially more difficult.”
  • “Some overseas customers will not use U.S. repair stations because of the ban.”
  • “It has prevented us from growing our business in Africa and serving our customer base in that area.”
  • “We cannot meet our customers’ needs and we are missing out on lost revenue in these rough times where we really need the work.”
  • “Inability to provide maintenance services for our customers while they are out of the country. Lack of growth opportunity causing job loss here in United States.”
  • “We are unable to take advantage of the expanding aviation sector growth in the Asia Pacific region, which is the largest growth region for the near future. The expansion for sale, use and support of U.S.-manufactured aviation products is stifled.”

More information on ARSA’s “Lift the Ban” survey may be found here.

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