2025 Engine Market Shake-Up: Delivery Delays, MRO Surge and Operational Consequences

This piece reveals how the 2025 engine market—delivery gaps, unexpected reliability problems and a spike in MRO demand—forced airlines and suppliers to rethink operations and logistics. It tracks what changed, why it mattered, and how ground-support planning had to catch up fast.

Market snapshot: deliveries, backlogs and the dominance of key suppliers

By late 2025, the commercial turbofan landscape had tightened around a handful of engine families. CFM International maintained leadership with its LEAP series, while Pratt & Whitney pushed ahead with the Geared Turbofan (GTF) family—PW1100G for A320neo and PW1500G for A220. Safran’s reported delivery pace suggested LEAP output rose significantly year-on-year, and Pratt & Whitney stated it had delivered enough GTF units to match Airbus’s adjusted 2025 aircraft targets, even shipping some engines early for 2026 production.

Delivery bottlenecks and the stubborn backlog

Production increased in 2025 but remained well short of industry needs. A structural backlog persisted—more than 17,000 aircraft in arrears, representing nearly a dozen years of current production capacity. Tens of thousands of engines across narrowbody and widebody fleets still needed replacement or installation, and more than 5,000 stored aircraft waited for engines. The result: delayed fleet renewals, squeezed capacity and escalated operating costs.

MRO surge: numbers, causes and operational fallout

2025 saw a significant increase in maintenance, repair and overhaul activity driven by two main issues: higher-than-expected durability work on new-generation engines and persistent shortages of critical spares. Nearly 6,000 major MRO events were recorded as engines like the LEAP-1A/1B and GTF family required deeper intervention than planned.

Reliability problems and grounded time

Contamination and cracking in turbine components contributed to lengthy inspection cycles. By year-end, more than 800 GTF engines had been taken out of operation at various times, translating into nearly 38% of some A320neo fleets affected. Hot-section parts and high-pressure turbine blades were in especially tight supply, compounding production and delivery delays.

Operational consequences for airlines and lessors

• Older aircraft kept flying: Operators deferred retirements and leaned on legacy engines (CFM56, V2500), increasing age-related MRO work.
• Turnaround times ballooned: Overhauls for legacy engines rose about 35% and exceeded a 150% jump for some new-generation powerplants versus five years earlier.
• Costs and ground time rose: Maintenance slot wait-times extended by two to six months, raising lease and spare-part expenses and creating operational headaches.

Engine stand demand and aftermarket dynamics

With shops stretched thin, ground-support equipment became a strategic asset. Data from EngineStands.com showed much higher stand utilisation and longer leasing periods across both legacy and modern engine types, reflecting constrained maintenance capacity.

Key customer segments shifted: airlines required stands for both legacy and new-generation types, lessors increased usage to manage asset value, and traders created episodic demand for popular types during teardowns and exchanges. In short, ground-support planning went from “nice to have” to mission-critical.

Voices from the supply chain

Operators and MRO providers emphasized the importance of pre-booking stands and aligning schedules with maintenance windows to avoid workflow disruption. Providers that could deliver OEM-certified equipment quickly and with responsive support gained trust, helping customers keep labor and shop schedules on track despite supply shortages.

Outlook: supply, demand and regional splits to 2035

Forecasts indicate that by 2035 about 90,000 engines will be in active service globally, with production concentrated among a few manufacturers. Expectations are that CFM will dominate narrowbody deliveries, while General Electric and Rolls-Royce will split widebody deliveries nearly evenly. MRO demand is projected to expand strongly—total maintenance demand from 2025–2034 could top USD 1.39 trillion, with engine upkeep nearly half of that—driven largely by narrowbody fleet growth and Asia-Pacific expansion.

Regional implications

• Asia-Pacific: fastest-growing share and the biggest projected MRO market due to fleet expansion in China and India.
• North America and Europe: mature but sizable demand driven by large fleets and high utilization.
• Middle East, Africa and Latin America: opportunities for capacity investment and supply-chain optimisation.

These trends underline that resilience will come through infrastructure investment, stronger OEM/MRO partnerships and smarter logistics planning. When push comes to shove, having the right stands, parts and forward-planning can make the difference between a short disruption and a long operational headache.

Highlights: the 2025 engine market revealed the fragile balance between production, reliability and aftermarket capacity. Key takeaways include record MRO demand, longer engine shop visits, stretched stand utilisation and a structural delivery backlog likely to influence fleet decisions into the early 2030s. Still, the clearest lesson is that nothing substitutes for direct experience—data and reviews help, but seeing how your own fleet performs under stress tells the whole story. On GetTransport.com, you can order your cargo transportation at the best prices globally at reasonable prices. This empowers you to make the most informed decision without unnecessary expenses or disappointments. For your next cargo transportation, consider the convenience and reliability of GetTransport.com. Book now GetTransport.com.com

In summary, the 2025 engine market forced airlines, lessors and MROs to adapt: aging fleets flew longer, new-generation engines required deeper intervention, and ground-support assets like engine stands became strategic. Logistics chains—from spare parts distribution to engine transport and stand leasing—grew more central to operational resilience. Platforms that simplify booking and move bulky assets reliably and affordably matter more than ever. GetTransport.com offers a practical response to these needs by providing efficient, cost-effective cargo and transport solutions for deliveries, relocations and moving bulky items like engines, stands and aircraft parts—helping to streamline freight, shipment, transport, logistics, shipping and forwarding needs for a global, reliable supply chain.