As Indian airlines add hundreds of new planes, companies like Eirtech see growing demand to modify, certify and upgrade aircraft after delivery.

When Airbus and Boeing win new aircraft orders, the opportunity extends well beyond the OEMs and their component suppliers. Every new aircraft order creates a business opportunity for companies that step in after delivery to modify, certify and configure planes for airlines.

As Indian airlines add hundreds of new aircraft over the coming years, the opportunity extends well beyond traditional maintenance. Airlines may want to change cabin layouts, modify galleys, add cockpit power, install connectivity and avionics systems, introduce surveillance systems or make other modifications to aircraft after they are delivered.

Each of those changes requires engineering, certification and, in many cases, specialised parts or installation kits.

That is where aircraft engineering and modification companies come in. And they are now looking at India as a potential growth market.

Unlike a traditional MRO, these companies may not physically work on the aircraft. Their role is to design and certify the modification and, in some cases, manufacture the parts or kits needed for the installation. The physical work is then carried out by an approved MRO.

Ireland-based Eirtech Aviation Services operates in this space. The company is an EASA Part 21J-approved Design Organisation and Part 21G Production Organisation, providing aircraft engineering, modification, certification and production services, alongside CAMO and technical services. President Michael Sattler says the scale of India's aircraft pipeline is making the country increasingly important for the company.

“India has the largest potential of any existing customer because it has the largest fleet orders of any individual airline,” Sattler said.

Eirtech has been working with Indian airlines for around a decade and says its Indian customer base is already seeking solutions ranging from aircraft livery and cabin modifications to cockpit power, CPDLC, ADS-B and surveillance systems.

Eirtech has been working with Indian airlines for around a decade and says its Indian customer base is already seeking solutions ranging from aircraft livery and cabin modifications to cockpit power, CPDLC, ADS-B and surveillance systems. Anthony Kelly, VP Sales at Eirtech Aviation Services, said the company often gets involved when airlines identify a requirement that the aircraft manufacturer does not provide as part of the standard aircraft configuration.

“A lot of airlines talk to you not necessarily knowing the solution that they want, but knowing the problem that they have. So they talk to us and say, you know, this is my problem. Can you come up with a solution?” Kelly said.

Sattler and Kelly are in India meeting existing and prospective customers as Eirtech looks to capture a larger share of the country’s rapidly expanding aviation market.

Eirtech says it already has around 130 Supplemental Type Certificates, or STCs, covering modification solutions it has developed for customers.

Eirtech wants a bigger piece of India’s aviation growth India remains a relatively small part of Eirtech's business today, accounting for less than 10% of revenue, according to Sattler. Europe and North America remain its larger markets. But that is expected to change.

Sattler said Eirtech is targeting “more-than-proportionate” growth in India over the next five years, even as the company targets doubling its overall global revenue during the period.

“If it's five today, I want it to be 15 in five years and not ten,” Sattler said, while clarifying that the numbers were illustrative rather than formal revenue guidance. The company says the opportunity comes from the sheer scale of aircraft entering the Indian market.

As new aircraft arrive, airlines may want to customise their configuration rather than operate them exactly as delivered by Airbus or Boeing. That could mean changes to the passenger cabin layout, galleys, cockpit power, connectivity, surveillance systems or other equipment.

And the opportunity doesn't stop with new aircraft. Existing aircraft may also need to be modified as airlines change their product offering, while aircraft moving between operators can require reconfiguration before being handed to a new lessee.

A new livery project is already in the pipeline Eirtech said it is working on a new livery project for an Indian customer that could come up early next year. Whether it is a new design or a modification, Kelly said the customer will announce the programme.

Eirtech takes the airline's design concept and translates it into detailed technical drawings and an engineering package that allows the paint shop to execute the livery in compliance with aviation requirements.

The company has previously worked with Air India on the technical drawings for its new aircraft livery. Delivery delays create another opportunity but also a challenge For Eirtech, India's aircraft growth comes against a global backdrop of delayed aircraft deliveries.

Sattler said the slowdown in new-aircraft deliveries is currently reducing activity in the aircraft transition market because airlines are holding on to aircraft for longer and extending leases rather than returning them to lessors.

Sattler said the slowdown in new-aircraft deliveries is currently reducing activity in the aircraft transition market because airlines are holding on to aircraft for longer and extending leases rather than returning them to lessors.

“These transitions are low now because of lack of new aircraft coming into the market. The two major OEMs are behind the delivery schedules. So a lot of lessees are holding onto the aircraft and extending,” Sattler said. That means fewer aircraft are going through the expensive process of lease return, reconfiguration and handover to a new operator.

But the same dynamic can create modification opportunities. Airlines keeping an aircraft for another three or four years may decide to upgrade its configuration or passenger offering rather than simply continue flying it in its existing state.

But the same dynamic can create modification opportunities. Airlines keeping an aircraft for another three or four years may decide to upgrade its configuration or passenger offering rather than simply continue flying it in its existing state.

For Eirtech, the larger opportunity is therefore not just the aircraft being delivered into India, but the entire lifecycle around those aircraft — from configuration and modification to continued airworthiness, lease transitions and eventual reconfiguration.

With India's airline fleet expanding rapidly, companies operating behind the scenes could become an increasingly important part of the country's aviation growth story.