The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) hosted a dual-premiere event today on Capitol Hill. At a congressional briefing in the Rayburn House Office Building, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) helped the association unveil “You Can’t Fly Without Us—The World of Aviation Maintenance.” The seven-minute documentary was developed as part of a series of informational public-television features and is intended to provide a foundational introduction to the work of the men and women who keep the world safely in flight.
Brett Levanto, ARSA operations director, told AIN, “Working on this project has been an absolute joy. Now that the final scene has been shot and the work is unveiled, we get to do the even more important work of making use of this story. You can’t fly without the hard work of the men and women of the aviation maintenance industry, and I hope this video will help that fact become plain to the hundreds of thousands of travelers who land safely every day.”
After the screening, ARSA released the 2015 Global Fleet and MRO Economic Assessment, prepared by CAVOK, a division of Oliver Wyman. David Marcontell, CAVOK’s vice president, presented an overview of the report’s findings, noting that the total worldwide market for commercial aviation maintenance activity will surpass $100 billion by 2025. On American soil, Marcontell noted that the industry employs nearly 300,000 men and women and generates more than $43 billion in economic activity, while producing more than $5 billion in federal corporate and individual income taxes.
“The message here is pretty simple,” said Christian Klein, ARSA’s executive vice president. “Every single time you land safely, or pick a loved one up at the airport, or have a package arrive on your doorstep, there’s a maintenance provider somewhere for you to thank. These repair stations, maintenance facilities and component shops—the businesses that ARSA represents every day—are part of a complex global network of services that are vital to our national and global economy.”