Why slots became the bottleneck
Airframes are flying longer, new-gen engines are visiting the shop earlier than forecast, and hangar labour is the scarcest resource in aviation. The result: base-maintenance lead times that used to be weeks are now quarters, and engine shop-visit queues stretch past a year for some types.
For operators, a missed slot cascades straight into schedule and revenue. For MROs, an empty bay is unrecoverable margin. Both problems are matching problems.
Planning horizons that actually work
- A-checks / line: book 1–3 months out; flexibility matters more than price.
- C-checks: 6–12 months out. Bundle with mods and cabin work to make the downtime pay.
- D-checks / heavy structures: 12–24 months out, and have a fallback facility identified.
- Engine shop visits: plan at induction-slot level, not calendar level — the queue is the constraint, and workscope decisions (full perf restoration vs hospital visit) set both cost and turnaround.
For Part 145s: fill the white space
Idle capacity is perishable inventory. Listing available windows — even anonymised by capability and week — puts your hangar in front of operators with drifting schedules and AOG recoveries. MROslot routes demand by aircraft type, check level and window straight to matching capacity on the aircraft.market network.