With its rapid global spread, huge death toll, lockdowns and border closures, COVID-19 has devastated demand for travel – creating exceptional operational and financial challenges for UK travel agents and tour operators, not to mention concern for customers who are waiting to find out about future or cancelled holiday bookings!
And, things haven’t been smooth-sailing for the titanium market either as almost a third of the world’s airlines have had to ground entire fleets and slash budgets for buying new aircraft.
In today’s blog, we’re looking at the impact the pandemic has had on the global airline industry, and the way forward – with a little help from our experts, here at Ti-Tek. So, let’s get started.
The initial impact
Since employees have been furloughed, and travel restrictions have been put in place to prevent the spread of the virus, many aviation companies have experienced serious disruption in production and demand.
With the decline in air travel and cargo flights, along with the sharp fall in revenue, reduced urgency to cut fuel costs and lower oil prices, airlines are likely to offset their plans to buy new planes too and extend the lifetime of their legacy fleets instead. The demand for spare parts from titanium suppliers has also dropped significantly, as there is less maintenance required due to fewer aeroplanes taking to the skies.
Potential long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the aerospace industry include:
- cash-flow shortages
- production challenges
- a domino effect throughout the supply chain
Practical next steps for the aerospace industry to take
When it comes to managing a crisis, like the coronavirus, aerospace leaders are defined by what they do in terms of how they respond, recover and prosper.
Something that is not to be overlooked during these unprecedented times is the ability to maintain and sustain a highly skilled workforce. Experienced staff will prove valuable when things start to pick up again, and especially now recreational general aviation is permitted (with social distancing guidelines being strictly observed) and proposed quarantine for arrivals.
Here in the UK, we have been in lockdown for just over three months and, in the wake of the pandemic, businesses are tentatively starting to reopen their doors. For many aviation companies, this could mean investigating a new supply chain with multiple lines of communication to help detect and prevent problems early on. Or perhaps even starting afresh, post-lockdown, and searching for a new titanium supplier?
That’s where Ti-Tek can help. We are a leading UK stockist of raw titanium and titanium alloys, including a wide range of grades and forms (i.e. titanium bars, rods, plates, sheets, tubes etc). We hold a large volume of stock at our Birmingham facility and accommodate the diverse requirements of the aerospace industry – dispatching products to worldwide destinations.
We’re taking all of the necessary precautionary measures to ensure maximum safety for both our customers and workforce and doing everything we can to operate a near-normal service.
For more information about our titanium products and how titanium suppliers can help you during these uncertain times, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our team will gladly be of assistance and share their expertise. Simply call us on 0121 382 4121 or drop us an email at info@titek.co.uk, and we’ll get back to you.