TheRelationshipbetweenanAircrafts

ValueanditsMaintenanceStatus
Theory of Aircraft Maintenance Adjusted Valuations

By: Mr. Shannon Ackert

Abstract
Aircraft market values are influenced by a host of determinants, and key among them is its
maintenance status. Maintenance status is directly linked to maintenance value and, depending on
the age of the aircraft, can account for a significant portion of a modern aircrafts market value.
However, the impact of maintenance status is rarely constant.
Similar to aircraft values,
maintenance status values are highly influenced by market conditions; values naturally decline in a
recession and rise again as the industry recovers.
Maintenance status is also determined by the manner in which an aircraft operates. The rate of
deterioration of high cost maintenance events (i.e. engine restoration and LLP replacement) is
affected by several factors such as average flight length and region of operation. Lastly, the effects
of both labor and material inflation are key drivers of escalating maintenance costs and therefore
efforts should be taken to account for these variables when forecasting future maintenance
exposure.
The material presented herein is intended to be both a guide and a resource tool for those
interested in gaining a better understanding of the determinants that impact maintenance status,
and to point out how an aircrafts maintenance status can influence its market value.

TheRelationshipbetweenanAircrafts
ValueanditsMaintenanceStatus
Theory of Aircraft Maintenance Adjusted Valuations
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.

INTRODUCTION ...

2.

MAINTENANCE UTILITY .......

3.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

4.

MAINTENANCE STATUS ......

3.1.

Full-life Status .....

3.2.

Half-life Status ....

MONITORING MAINTENANCE STATUS .......

4.1.

Monitoring Engine Maintenance Status...

5.

QUANTIFYING MAINTENANCE STATUS ..

6.

FORECASTING MAINTENANCE STATUS ....

6.1.

Aircraft Operation .......

6.2.

Aircraft Age .........

6.3.

Maintenance Inflation ........

6.3.1.
7.

8.

9.

Applying Cost Indices to Forecast Maintenance Costs .....

AICRAFT VALUE DEFINITIONS ..............

10

7.1.

Base Value .......

10

7.2.

Current Market Value .....

10

7.3.

Adjusted Current Market Value..

10

7.4.

Future Base Value...

11

7.5.

Residual Value.....

11

7.6.

Distress Value .....

11

RELATIONSHIP BEWTEEN AGE AND VALUE PERFORMANCE

12

8.1.

Aircraft Values Over Time..

12

8.2.

Maintenance Status Over Time....

12

8.2.1. Engine Status Over Time

13

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKET CONDITIONS AND VALUE PERFORMANCE ........

14

10. MAINTENANCE VALUE RECOGNITION IN LEASE TRANSACTIONS .

15

11. FORECASTING VALUE CYCLES ....

16

12. FRAMING THE OPTIMAL TRADING PERIOD ......

17

12.1. New-to-Mature Status ........

17

12.2. Mature-to-Aging Status ...

17

12.2.1. A Caveat to Age and Value Cycle ...

17

13. CONCLUSIONS .......

18

APPENDIX 1 - FACTORS INFLUENCING AIRCRAFT VALUES .....

19

APPENDIX 2 - BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA RETRIEVAL INSTRUCTIONS...

20

APPENDIX 3 - EXAMPLE HALF-LIFE MAINTENANCE STATUS FORECAST..

21

REFERENCES, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SOURCES OF DATA ....

22

1.0

INTRODUCTION

One of the fundamental factors to be considered when valuing an aircraft is the condition of its
maintenance status. The sometimes wide disparity between appraisals for similarly aged aircraft can
often be explained by differences in their maintenance condition. Therefore, where possible it is useful
to quantify in monetary terms the maintenance status of aircraft involved in transactions given a
strong relationship exists between the cost of conducting maintenance and value enhancement.
The vast majority of aircraft appraisers and traders quantify the value of an aircrafts maintenance
status through analysis of certain, high cost major maintenance events. These events generally
consist of: a.) Airframe heavy check (heavy structural inspection); b.) Engine performance restoration
& LLP replacement; c.) Landing gear overhaul; and d.) APU performance restoration.
Maintenance value is also heavily influenced by market forces. In surplus conditions, where aircraft
values tend to command premium prices, prospective buyers are more willing to consider aircraft in
lesser maintenance condition. Conversely, buyers are reluctant to expend cash on aircraft with lower
levels of maintenance status, and quite often such conditions will warrant scrapping and/or parting out
of the aircraft. Lastly, the cost of maintenance is also influenced by ever increasing inflation, which
over the long-term has the potential make an aircraft uneconomical to operate.

2.0

MAINTENANCE UTILITY

The maintenance utility profile for hard-time and on-condition/condition-monitored events follow a
conventional saw-tooth maintenance cycle as illustrated in Figure 1 below. Maintenance value
declines with time on-wing, however, depending on the nature of the maintenance event, the value
may or may not fully amortize to zero nor does it fully re-capitalize to 100% of its market value.
In general, maintenance events that are subject to a hard-time interval (i.e. airframe heavy checks
and landing gear overhauls) have their corresponding values decline to zero and subsequently
recapitalized to full value after each check. On the other hand, on-condition and condition-monitored
maintenance events, such as engine shop visits, rarely have their maintenance value fully exhausted
during a shop visit.

MaintenanceUtilityRemaining

F IGURE 1 E XAMPLE S AW -T OOTH M AINTENANCE U TILITY P ROFILES

%
100

Maintenance events subject to hardtime intervals follow a

conventionalsawtoothcurvewherebyonecanexpect100%of
its maintenance utility to be recovered following each event.
Itsafairlystraightforwardprocesstocalculatedeviationsfrom
halflifeifamaintenanceeventisunderahardtimeinterval.

50

New

MaintenanceUtilityRemaining

HardTime MaintenanceUtilityProfile

%
100

First
Event

Second
Event

Third
Event

OC/CM MaintenanceUtilityProfile

Oncondition (OC) & conditionmonitored (CM) maintenance

events can be difficult to assess given 100% of their
maintenance utility is rarely consumed.  Additionally, the
workscopewilloftenonlypartiallyrestorethevalueitlost.

50

New

First
SV

Second
SV

Third
SV

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

To underpin the depreciation profile associated with the maintenance events highlighted above we
need to relate the maintenance utility profile that each event is attributed to. This requires an
understanding of the factors that influence each maintenance events time on-wing characteristics in
addition to the factors that influence its costs.

3.0

MAINTENANCE STATUS

Maintenance status is used to assess, in whole or part, the value of maintenance utility remaining.
The value of maintenance status can be assessed by analyzing data related to an aircrafts
maintenance condition at a specific point in time. The key to quantifying maintenance status lies in
making accurate assessment as to: 1.) Where each major maintenance event is relative to their last
and next shop visit, and 2.) What percentage of its next shop visit cost is remaining.
Depending on the aircraft type and age, the value of maintenance status can represent a significant
proportion of an aircrafts overall market value. Where appraisers are responsible for ascertaining the
market value of an aircraft, they use, as a baseline reference, two industry-standard terms to
represent an aircrafts maintenance status. These terms consist of full-life and half-life.
3.1 Full-life The full-life status implies that each major maintenance event has just been fully
restored or overhauled to zero time condition; the airframe is fresh from its heavy check, the landing
gear is fresh from an overhaul, the engines are fresh from a performance-restoration shop visit, and
all engine Life Limited Parts (LLPs) have zero-life used.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

Such a program of maintenance is practically impossible nevertheless full-life status does denote a
reference value representing the cost of returning each major maintenance event to full life condition.
For example, the cost of taking an A320-200 from zero-life to full-life is in excess of $11 million
dollars.

3.2 Half-life The half-life status assumes that the airframe, engines, landing gear and all major
components are half-way between major overhauls and that any life-limited part (for example an
engine disk) has used up half of its life. Figure 2 illustrates the full & half-life maintenance status for
a new A320 aircraft.
F IGURE 2- E XAMPLE : A320-200 F ULL -L IFE & H ALF -L IFE M AINTENANCE S TATUS & V ALUES


BaseYear:2011
A320200FULL&HALFLIFEVALUATION
A320200CFM565B4/P27,000LbsFULL&HALFLIFEMETRICS
Unit
Equipment
Event
Phase
Cost
Units
Airframe
4C/6YSI
FirstRun
780,000
1
Airframe
8C/12YSI
FirstRun
850,000
1
LandingGear
GearOvhl
420,000
1
APU
APURest
265,000
1
EngModules
EngRest
FirstRun
2,235,000
2
EngLLPs
EngLLP
2,170,000
2
Totals

Fulllife
Value
780,000
850,000
420,000
265,000
4,470,000
4,340,000
11,125,000

Halflife
Value
390,000
425,000
210,000
132,500
2,235,000
2,170,000
5,562,500

FulllifeMtxIntervals
Mo
FH
FC
72
144
120
20,000
7,500
24,300
13,500
23,000

APUFH
Weightedaverage

Maintenance Status Perspective

Intherealworlditiscommontomakefinancialadjustmentstoaccountforboththe
condition and maintenance status of an aircraft.  This often involves performing a
physicalinspectionorconductingathoroughreviewofitstechnicalrecords.
Conditiontendstobemoreofajudgmentcall.Ifanaircrafthasalotscabpatches,is
dirty, is dripping fluids, and has a lot of deferred maintenance items, it is not
uncommon to assign a lower value to this aircraft.  In most cases however, an
aircrafts condition, as opposed to its maintenance status, would not warrant a
significantchangeinanappraisersstandardvalueopinion.

HalflifeMtxIntervals
Mo
FH
FC
36
72
60
10,000
3,750
12,150
6,750
11,500

4.0

MONITORING MAINTENANCE STATUS

Adjustments from half-life are computed based on maintenance status information compiled from
aircraft technical specification sheets. Adjustments are calculated only when there is sufficient
information to do so, or where reasonable assumptions can be made. Figure 3 below illustrates an
example of a maintenance status report for a Jan-2006 build A320 aircraft, and which was recorded
on Jan-2011.
F IGURE 3- E XAMPLE A320-200 M AINTENANCE S TATUS I NFORMATION

15Jan11
Aircraft:
EngPos1:
EngPos2:

Utilization:

3,600FH

2,000FC

Maint
Equipment
Airframe

Maint
Event
4C/6YRSI
8C/12YRSI
Overhaul
Restoration
Restoration
Restoration

RecommendedIntervals
Months
FH
FC
72
144
120
20,000
OnCondition/MTBPR=7,500APUFH

LdgGear
APU
EngPos1
EngPos2
LLPSTATUS
LLP
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Totals:
Remain:

LLP$
150,000
150,000
150,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
130,000
84,000
84,000
84,000
84,000
84,000
2,170,000

TSN
18,000FH
18,000FH
18,000FH

CSN
10,000FC
10,000FC
10,000FC

MaintenanceStatusSinceNew/LastCheck
Performed
FH
FC
Months
Remaining
15Jan06
60Mo
12Mo
15Jan06
60Mo
84Mo
15Jan06
60Mo
60Mo
5,850APUFH
1,650APUFH
15Jan06
10,000FC
3,500FC
OnCondition/MTBPR=13,500FC
15Jan06
10,000FC
3,500FC
ENGINEPOSITION1
ENGINEPOSITION2
FCLimit
$/FC
CurrentFC
RemainFC
Remain$
CurrentFC
RemainFC
Remain$
30,000
5.00
10,000
20,000
100,000
10,000
20,000
100,000
30,000
5.00
10,000
20,000
100,000
10,000
20,000
100,000
30,000
5.00
10,000
20,000
100,000
10,000
20,000
100,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
20,000
6.50
10,000
10,000
65,000
10,000
10,000
65,000
25,000
5.20
10,000
15,000
78,000
10,000
15,000
78,000
25,000
3.36
10,000
15,000
50,400
10,000
15,000
50,400
25,000
3.36
10,000
15,000
50,400
10,000
15,000
50,400
25,000
3.36
10,000
15,000
50,400
10,000
15,000
50,400
25,000
3.36
10,000
15,000
50,400
10,000
15,000
50,400
25,000
3.36
10,000
15,000
50,400
10,000
15,000
50,400
420,000
95.50
240,000
1,215,000
240,000
1,215,000
57.1%
56.0%
57.1%
56.0%

4.1 Engine Maintenance Status The modern trend is to maintain engines on an on-condition
monitoring basis, wherein engines are removed only when an internal component reaches its
individual life limit, or when performance monitoring suggests that the engine is operating outside
manufacturers suggested parameters.
In order to monitor the performance of an engine, regular detailed measurements are taken of the
engines operating speed, temperature, pressure, fuel flow and vibration levels. The measurements
are tracked by special software in order to identify deteriorating trends. By closely monitoring these
trends it is possible to make accurate predictions as to when an engines scheduled removal is
warranted, and by correlation, the interval remaining to its next shop visit.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

AIRCRAFTMAINTENANCESTATUSASOF:
Aircraft:
A320200
DateMfg:
15Jan06

5.0

QUANTIFYING MAINTENANCE STATUS

Half-life is also standard appraisal industry term to indicate that no value adjustment has been made
for the actual maintenance status of the aircraft the assumption being that the airframe, engines
(modules & LLPs), landing gear, and other major maintenance events are in half-life status. Half-life
thus enables a comparison to be made between values of aircraft of different types and ages using a
common denominator. It does not indicate that the aircraft is half-way through its useful life.
An aircrafts half-life adjustment value can be quantified using the following equation:
Adjustment from Half-Time = (Mtx Event % Life Remaining 50%) * (Mtx Event Cost)

The following examples illustrate the calculations of adjustment from half-life for a Jan-2006 build
A320 aircraft as of Jan-2011, based on an assumed annual utilization of 3,600 FH and 2,000 FC.
Example A: Calculation of adjustment from half-life for the 4C/6Year Structural Inspection:

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

x
x
x
x

4C/6Year Event Interval = 72 months

Average Maintenance Event Cost = $780,000
Life Remaining =12 months
% Life Remaining = 12/72 = 16.67%

Solution A: Adjustment from Half-Time = (16.67% - 50%)*$780,000 = ($260,000)

Example B: Calculation of adjustment from half-life for all major maintenance events.
SOLUTION B:
AIRCRAFTMAINTENANCESTATUSASOF:
Aircraft:
A320200
DateMfg:
15Jan06
Utilization:

3,600FH

15Jan11

2,000FC

ADJUSTMENTFROMHALFTIMECALCULATION
Mtx
Mtx
Mtx
Equipment
Event
Phase
Airframe
4C/6YRSI
FirstRun
Airframe
8C/12YRSI FirstRun
LandingGear
Overhaul
APU
PerfRest
EnginePosition1
PerfRest
FirstRun
EnginePosition1
LLPReplace
EnginePosition2
PerfRest
FirstRun
EnginePosition2
LLPReplace
HalfLifeAdjustment:

TSN
18,000FH
18,000FH
18,000FH

CSN
10,000FC
10,000FC
10,000FC

Mtx
Interval
72Mo
144Mo
120Mo
7,500APUFH
13,500FC
Limiter
13,500FC
Limiter

Interval
Remain
12Mo
84Mo
60Mo
1,650APUFH
3,500FC

Aircraft:
EngPos1:
EngPos2:
Mtx
Cost$
780,000
850,000
420,000
265,000
2,235,000
2,170,000
2,235,000
2,170,000
11,125,000

Engine Maintenance Status Perspective

Unlike airframes, engines are highly modular.  That means
theyarebrokendownintoseverallargesubparts(modules),
foreaseofmaintenance.Modulesare:

x
Frequentlyswappedbetweenengines,andare
x
Tracked independently, each subject to an
individual overhaul life, with its own service
bulletins, airworthiness directives, and inspection
thresholdsforconditionmonitoring.

3,500FC

LifeRemaining
%Total
%1/2Time
16.7%
33.3%
58.3%
8.3%
50.0%
0.0%
18.0%
32.0%
25.9%
24.1%
56.0%
6.0%
25.9%
24.1%
56.0%
6.0%

Fan / Low Pressure

Compressor

AdjustFrom
1/2Time$
(260,000)
70,833
0
(84,800)
(538,056)
130,000
(538,056)
130,000
(1,090,078)

High Pressure
Compressor
Combustor & High
Pressure Turbine

Accessory
Gearbox

Low Pressure
Turbine

6.0

FORECASTING MAINTENANCE STATUS

Developing fair and accurate assessments of an aircrafts future maintenance status requires an
understanding of the factors that influence the Direct Maintenance Costs (DMC) of each major
maintenance event. These influencing factors consist of the: 1) Aircraft operation, 2) Aircraft age, and
3) Maintenance inflation.

1.

Flight length The impact of lower flight length results in higher cyclic loads on an
airframes structure with the consequence of higher non-routine maintenance. Smaller
flight segments also force engines to spend a larger proportion of total flight time using
take-off and climb power settings resulting in more rapid performance deterioration, which
translates to higher DMC. Conversely, longer sector lengths will lead to less wear & tear
on the airframe and engines, and a commensurate decrease in DMC per flight hour.

2.

Engine derate - Take-off derate thrust is a thrust setting that is below the maximum
thrust level. A larger derate translates into lower take-off EGT, resulting in lower engine
deterioration rate, longer on-wing life, and reduced DMC.

3.

Operating environment More caustic operating environments generally result in higher

engine DMC. Engines operating in dusty, sandy and erosive-corrosive environments are
exposed to higher blade distress and thus greater performance deterioration. Particulate
material due to air pollution, such as dust, sand or industry emissions can erode HPC
blades and block HPT vane/blade cooling holes. Other environmental distress symptoms
consist of hardware corrosion and oxidation.

F IGURE 4 A320-200 - O PERATIONALLY A DJUSTED D IRECT M AINTENANCE C OSTS (DMC) /B ASE Y EAR : 2011
Themoreseveretheoperatingprofile,thegreatertheDMC,allelseequal.

A320200FIRSTRUNDIRECTMAINTENANCECOSTS(DMC$/FH)

A320200FIRSTRUNDIRECTMAINTENANCECOSTS(DMC$/FH)

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

6.1 Aircraft Operation To accurately forecast maintenance status its important to consider the type
of operation the aircraft will be exposed to. An aircrafts maintenance value will amortize based on
the DMC profile associated with its specific operational profile. The same model aircraft operating at
different profiles will experience different levels of DMC. The key operational factors influencing an
aircrafts DMC are: 1.) Flight length, 2.) Engine derate, and 3.) Operating environment. Figure 4
below illustrates the variations in DMC taking into consideration differences in flight leg, derate, and
region of operation.

6.2 Aircraft Age - As an aircraft matures, subsequent airframe heavy checks are expected to incur
substantially higher non-routine tasks, and engines in particular, will incur higher maintenance costs
following its honeymoon phase defined as the period of time leading up to its first performance
restoration.
Therefore, when forecasting maintenance costs its critical to adjust these expenses to account for the
age (or maturity) of the applicable maintenance event. For a given aircraft, the aging cycle will
generally be broken into three phases consisting of: first-run, mature-run, and aging-run.
1.

First-Run is the initial operating years, often referred to as the honeymoon period. The
structure, systems, and components are new; and there is less non-routine maintenance
and material scrap rate. From a maintenance cost perspective, newness is generally
considered the first 4-6 years of in-service operation.

2.

Mature-Run begins after the newness phase and runs through the first maintenance cycle.
This period typically falls between the first heavy maintenance visit and the second
maintenance visit.

3.

Aging-Run begins after the end of the first maintenance cycle when the effects of airframe
age result in higher non-routine maintenance costs. This period typically begins after the
second heavy maintenance visit and continues to increase with time.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

Figure 5 below illustrates the range of DMCs based on the aging profile of an A320-200 aircraft
operating under a common profile.

F IGURE 5 A320-200 - A GE R ELATED D IRECT M AINTENANCE C OSTS (DMC) / B ASE Y EAR : 2011

FirstRunPhase:New 6Years

MatureRunPhase:6Years 12Years

AgeingPhase:>12Years

6.3 Maintenance Inflation Maintenance inflation is affected by a number of factors, but the most
obvious of these factors are increases in both wage and material costs. Engine manufacturers, in
particular, escalate their piece-parts by a rate often exceeding the rate of inflation. In general, newer
aircraft would experience deferred inflationary pressures given there is a considerable maintenance
honeymoon period during which aircraft DMCs are below predicted mature levels. As an aircraft
ages however, the effects of inflation often result in much higher labor and material costs, with the
consequence of accelerating higher maintenance costs.
6.3.1 Applying Cost Indices to Forecast Maintenance Costs The primary econometric parameters
used to measure changes in cost over time (i.e. escalation) are cost indices. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) provides two basic types of indices that serve as a proxy for measuring changes in
cost levels for both aircraft maintenance wages and aerospace materials. These indices are illustrated
in Figure 6 and consist of: a.) Employment Cost Index (ECI) for aircraft manufacturing wages &
salaries, and b.) Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial commodities.
Source:BLS

F IGURE 6 A IRCRAFT M AINTENANCE I NFLATION I NDICES

Group : Industrial Commodities

Series ID : WPU03THRU15

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) tracks changes in

the cost of labor. Laborrelated outlays on wages,
salaries, and the gamut of fringe benefits, accounts
for more than 60% of the cost of manufacturing.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures

changes in prices that manufacturers and
wholesalers pay for goods during various
stages of production..

Methods that will allow one to estimate maintenance inflation rationally consist of assigning weights to
each of the above indices to arrive at a generic multiplier. A general guideline for allocation of aircraft
maintenance costs is a weighting consisting of 75% labor and 25% material. Referring to the
respective indices above, one can approximate the constant dollar multiplier (P) over a five year
period from Jan-2005 to Dec-2010, where (L) is labor and (M) is material, as follows:
P = 0.75*(L_2010/L_2005) + 0.25*(M_2010/M_2005) = .75*(114.4/98.8) + .25(191.5/152.7) = 1.182
Thus, over a period of 5 years maintenance inflation
increased by 18.2%, which translates into an average
annual escalation of 3.64%.
However, its worth
noting that while an aircraft is new very little nonroutine activity will occur, and labor & material cost
escalations will not affect maintenance cost to the
same degree as older aircraft.

F IGURE 7 A320 I NFLATION A DJUSTED M TX V ALUE

A320200:FulllifeMaintenanceValue
30
25

Sustainedinflationrate:3%

20
15

The effects of inflation can be best observed by

viewing its impact on an aircrafts full-life maintenance
cost as illustrated in Figure 7, where a sustained
inflation rate of 3% is expected to more than double a
new A320s full-life maintenance value.

10
5
0

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

Compensation : Wages & Salaries

Industry : Aircraft Manufacturing
Series ID : CIU2023211000000I

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Figure 8 below illustrates an example of the half-life maintenance status forecast for a new 2011 build
A320-200 aircraft taking into consideration the influence of the aircrafts operation, its age, and a
sustained maintenance inflation rate of 3% per year. Chart A illustrates each major events
maintenance utility profile unadjusted for inflation. Chart B illustrates the consolidated maintenance
status forecast along with projections for the aircrafts theoretical, inflation-adjusted half-life values
during two phases of its economic life.
F IGURE 8 A320-200 O PERATIONALLY A DJUSTED M AINTENANCE S TATUS F ORECAST

ChartAMaintenanceStatusForecastbyEvent 2011ConstantDollars

4C/6YCheck
4C/6YCheck

%
100

SecondRun
$12,460/Mo

FirstRun
$10,830/Mo

72

144

50

New

Months
APURestoration
APURestoration

%
100

LandingGearOverhaul
LandingGearOverhaul

$3,500/Mo

50

New

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

%
100

$5,900/Mo

50

144

New

1st Run
$92/FH

%
100

2nd Run
$154/FH

EngineLLPReplacement
LLPReplacement

$94.50/FC

50

50

120

Months

Months
EngineModuleRestoration
EngineRestoration

%
100

50

$35/APUFH

New

7,500

7,500

7,500

New

7,500

24,300

40,500

New

13,500

FlightHours

APUFlightHours

22,500

FlightCycles

ChartBHalflifeMaintenanceStatusForecast 2011ConstantDollars (SeeSourceDatainAppendix3)

A320200MAINTENANCESTATUSFORECASTANNUALFH:3,000FLIGHTLEG:1.8MTBPRFIRSTRUN:13,500FCMTBPRMATURERUN:9,000FC

FirstRunDMC=$380/FH

MatureRunDMC=$510/FH

Scenario1:TheoreticalMaintenanceHalflifeValue@Month68
Event
4C/6YRSI
8C/12YRSI
GearOvhl
Eng1PR1
Eng1LLP
Eng2PR1
Eng2LLP
APUPR

MtxInterval
72Months
144Months
120Months
13,500FC
LifeLimit
13,500FC
LifeLimit
7,500FH

IntRemain
4Months
76Months
52Months
2,170FC
12,266FC
2,170FC
12,266FC
6,500FH

%Remain
5.6%
52.8%
43.3%
16.1%
52.0%
16.1%
52.0%
86.7%

2011Cost$
780,000
850,000
420,000
2,235,000
2,170,000
2,235,000
2,170,000
265,000
11,125,000

8C/12YCheck
8C/12YCheck

%
100

Scenario2:TheoreticalMaintenanceHalflifeValue@Month88
2017Cost$
931,398
1,014,985
501,522
2,668,814
2,591,197
2,668,814
2,591,197
316,437
13,284,363

HalfLife$
(413,955)
28,194
(33,435)
(905,420)
51,165
(905,420)
51,165
116,027
(2,011,678)

Event
4C/6YRSI
8C/12YRSI
GearOvhl
Eng1PR2
Eng1LLP
Eng2PR2
Eng2LLP
APUPR

MtxInterval
72Months
144Months
120Months
9,000FC
LifeLimit
9,000FC
LifeLimit
7,500FH

IntRemain
56Months
56Months
32Months
6,830FC
16,800FC
6,830FC
16,800FC
2,300FH

%Remain
77.8%
38.9%
26.7%
85.4%
71.2%
85.4%
71.2%
30.7%

2011Cost$
897,000
850,000
420,000
2,500,000
2,170,000
2,500,000
2,170,000
265,000
11,772,000

2019Cost$
1,136,320
1,076,780
532,056
3,167,000
2,748,956
3,167,000
2,748,956
335,702
14,912,770

HalfLife$
315,644
(119,642)
(124,146)
1,120,326
582,406
1,120,326
582,406
(64,902)
3,412,418

7.0

AIRCRAFT VALUE DEFINITIONS

An aircrafts value means different things to different people. An accountant will think of it in terms of
book value, or the value recorded in the ledger. An aircraft trader will consider it as the fair market
value. The standard aircraft value terms used by the vast majority of aircraft appraisers are defined
by the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT). The following is a representative
sample of key definitions that conform to the standards set forth by ISTAT.
7.1 Base Value - represents the opinion of the value of single aircraft in a single arms length
transaction between a willing and informed buyer and seller with no hidden or liabilities, in a balanced
market. A balanced market is one where supply and demand are reasonably equal, and where neither
is affected by short-term events. Short-term events generally include events that temporarily alter
values such as, for example, extraordinary manufacturer price discounts, fuel costs, war or recessions.
Base value then is a hypothetical value, as the real market is never completely balanced or unaffected
by short-term events, and it is generally used to analyze historical values or to project future values.
Importantly, base value assumes an aircrafts maintenance status is at half-life, or benefitting from an
above-average maintenance status if it is new or fairly new.
7.2 Current Market Value - represents the appraisers opinion of the most likely trading price that
may be generated for an asset under the market conditions that are perceived to exist at the time in
question. Market values are often value opinions based on each appraisers careful analysis of
information about recent transactions.

The current market value of an aircraft will tend to be consistent with its base value in a stable market
environment. In situations where a reasonable equilibrium between supply and demand does not exist
a divergence between base value and market value indicates the existence of some form of imbalance
in the market. For example, if the current market value is in excess of base value, this would indicate
that prevailing market conditions are tending to support higher trading prices for the aircraft in
question.
7.3 Adjusted Market Value - indicates that the market or base value of the aircraft has been
adjusted from half-life condition to account for the actual maintenance status. The maintenance you
perform on an aircraft has an impact on its value. Therefore, it is important to quantify in monetary
terms the maintenance status of aircraft involved in transactions, since a strong relationship exists
between the cost of conducting maintenance and value enhancement.
Figure 9 below illustrates the desktop adjusted market values for a 2006 vintage A320-200 aircraft
using the half-time adjustment value computed in Example 2 above - the method simply subtracts the
adjustment from both the half-life base and current market values.
F IGURE 9 E XAMPLE : A320-200 M AINTENANCE A DJUSTED V ALUATIONS
MarketValueSource:CollateralVerifications

MAINTENANCEADJUSTEDMARKETVALUES
Aircraft
Build
MTOW
Model
Year
(lbs)
A320200
2006
170,000

Market
Values
Base
Value
Current
Value

HalfLife
Values

HalfLife
Adjustment

Adjusted
Values

33,670,000

(1,090,078)

32,579,922

27,780,000

(1,090,078)

26,689,922

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

Current market values also considers the perceived demand for the type, its availability on the
market, and further takes account of the expressed views of informed industry sources. Similar to
base value, current market value assumes an aircrafts maintenance status is at half-life, or
benefitting from an above-average maintenance status if it is new or fairly new.

10

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

The future value forecast is also based on the

premise that the aircraft will be in half-life
condition.
Theoretically, the future base value
curve should be less volatile than current market
values; responding slowly to cumulative changes in
current market values that should cycle above and
below the future base value curve Figure 10.

11

F IGURE 10-H ISTORIC M ARKET VS . F UTURE B ASE V ALUES

$40

HistoricMarketValue FutureBaseValue

$35
MarketorBaseValue $M

7.4 Future Base Value - is the appraisers forecast

of future aircraft value(s) from an initial starting
point that is generally its base value - a curve is
generated using normalized data points derived
from a base value, and an extension of that curve
produces the future base value curve for an aircraft
type.
Future values are normally projected in
current dollars and, as such, future values
projections entail inflation assumptions. Appraisers
often forecast future values assuming an inflation
rate ranging from 2% to 3%.

$30
$25
$20
$15
$10
$5
$0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Age Years

7.5 Distressed Value is the value at which an aircraft could be sold under abnormal conditions
typically an artificially limited marketing time period. The perception is of the seller being under
duress to sell due factors that materially reduce the bargaining leverage of the seller and give
prospective buyers a significant advantage that can translate into heavily discounted actual trading
prices.
7.6 Salvage Value is defined as the actual or estimated selling price of an aircraft, engine or major
assembly based on the value of marketable parts and components that could be salvaged for re-use
on other aircraft or engines. The value should be determined and stated in such a way to make clear
whether it includes adjustment for removal costs.
Salvage Value (Parting-out Value) becomes applicable when disassembly for parts would most
probably result in the highest cash yield for the asset as-is as compared to the Market Value of the
asset as a whole. For high-value items such as engines and landing gear, the salvage value might be
estimated on the basis of the remaining green time before the item would require a major
inspection or overhaul. While such disassembly for parts may result in the highest cash yield that can
be generated in the marketplace, an owner may elect to reinvest in the asset to restore it as a
working aircraft, engine or major assembly because the asset has a value-in-use to him that
exceeds the Salvage Value or Parts Value.

Aircraft Appraisal Perspective

The role of the appraiser has expanded greatly over time.
Appraisersarecalledontoassessanaircraftasaflyingpieceof
machinery and as an economic, capital asset entity. As a capital
asset, the quantification of an aircrafts value is an analytical
process.
All analytical tools rely heavily on interpreting facts and
relationships,requiringagreatdealofexperienceandjudgment
of the part of the appraiser. Though the analysis can never be
divorced from the judgment of an experienced appraiser, the
appraisalprocessislessartthanmanyassume.

8.0

RELATIONSHIP BEWTEEN AGE AND VALUE PERFORMANCE

An aircraft, like most physical assets, exhibits a depreciation profile whereby its current market value
depreciates to a residual value over time. This trend, along with growing obsolescence resulting from
new technologies and improvements in fuel burn, contributes to the depreciation process and limits an
aircrafts economic useful life. And, as previously discussed, the influence of age is expected to result
in higher proportional maintenance costs. Accordingly, most appraisers and traders assume a strong
relationship exists between age and market values, and between age and the increased cost of
conducting maintenance.
8.1 Aircraft Values Over Time Aging aircraft have a more elastic response to the economic cycle
than newer technology aircraft. Older aircraft in need of major cash expenditures for pending major
maintenance events are not likely to remain in service, instead they will be relegated to part-out or
permanent retirement. The rational for this is that; a.) Operators and owners no longer have the cash
outlays to expend on maintenance and, b.) Any significant expenditure for maintenance is not
expected to augment the market value of the aircraft.
In contrast to aging aircraft, newer/younger aircraft are traded less frequently, and therefore there
tends to be greater uncertainty about their market values. For an aircraft type just entering
commercial service, the historical sales performance of aircraft from the same generic class having
widespread commercial acceptance, can provide reasonable indication as to its likely market value.
Figure 11 below illustrates the variability in market values between new and aging aircraft.

New/InProductionAircraft

Ageing/OutofProductionAircraft

60%

60%

50%

50%

40%

40%

30%

30%

20%

20%

10%

10%

0%

0%

10%
20%
30%

10%
20%
30%

40%
50%
60%

40%
50%
60%

Time Years
MarketvaluesasapercentageofBaseValues

Time Years
MarketvaluesasapercentageofBaseValues

8.2 Maintenance Status Over Time Generally, an appraiser attempts to attach a value resulting
from differences in maintenance status between the hypothetical average aircraft and the aircraft
he/she is appraising. For new, or nearly new aircraft, where the maintenance status is half-life or
better, the maintenance value adjustment tends be negligible.
As an aircraft ages, maintenance begins to account for a higher proportion of the aircrafts total value;
over time, escalating non-routine maintenance tasks require incremental labor to address unscheduled
repairs of discrepancies, or to remove and restore defective components. Additionally, higher material
costs are expected to be incurred given that costly components begin to reach a state of beyond
economic repair, and many piece-parts are scrapped and replaced see Figure 12.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

F IGURE 11 A IRCRAFT C URRENT M ARKET V ALUE C YCLE V ARIATIONS AS A P ERCENTAGE OF B ASE V ALUES

12

After an aircraft reaches a certain age the main differentiator between specific aircraft of the same
vintage will often be the value in their maintenance status. Thus the position in the maintenance
cycle is a source of value difference between aircraft of the same type and vintage, and consequently
it is useful to quantify in monetary terms the value of maintenance status.

F IGURE 12 I NFLUENCE OF A GE ON A IRCRAFT M AINTENANCE V ALUATION

Aging
>12Years
Maturity
6 12Yrs

Non
Routine

Routine

Routine

Non
Routine

%FBV

Non
Routine

$Millions

Newness
<6Years

Sustainedinflationrate:2%

Routine
Time Years

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

FutureBaseValuesSource:CollateralVerifications

8.2.1 Engine Status Over Time Of all the major maintenance events accounted for in the valuation of
an aircrafts maintenance status, engines in particular, tend to retain their value more strongly as an
aircraft ages. An engines maintenance value is a function of the cost of an engines Life-Limited Parts
(LLPs) and the cost of an engine performance restoration. Given the ability to restore value and
useful life through maintenance processes, the economic value of an engine remains relatively firm
throughout much of its economic useful life. These factors play a vital role in the behavior of engine
maintenance values because, whereas an airframe gradually deteriorates over time as flight hours and
cycles accumulate, appropriate levels of maintenance can repetitively restore an engine to a near new
condition and value.
Since the value of an engine in the later stages of its economic life is strongly related to the
operational green-time remaining, the maintenance status of engines has a growing impact on value.
During the final phase of its economic life, when the serviceable engine is operated to the point where
an engine shop visit is required, the engine owner must make a decision to either invest in an engine
shop visit or disassemble the engine and sell the parts.
Another consideration regards an operators financial status, which often dictates their policies
towards investments in engine shop visit maintenance. Cash constrained operators may view the cost
associated with an optimized workscope as being cost prohibited, and instead will opt to minimize
their liabilities by scaling down the engines build standard, which translates into a lower maintenance
value.

Engine Economic Life Perspective

Theeconomiclifecycleofanenginecanbedividedintothreephases.
Phase 1 starts at the introduction of the engine into regular and finishes when the production run of the aircraft it supports
ceases.Duringthisphase:a.)Enginedemandgrowsandvaluestendtocorrelatetolistprices;b.)Themajorityofengineshave
yettooccasiontheirfirstperformancerestoration;c.)Newenginewarrantiesstillapply;andd.)Fewenginesareactivelytraded.
Phase2coincideswiththeterminationofanaircraftsproduction.Duringthisphase:a.)Enginevaluesaregenerallystable;b.)
Most of the engines are in their mature phase; c.) Stable rate of performance restorations; d.) Engine maintenance status
becomesincreasinglyimportant.

13

Phase3representstheperiodoftimefollowingthewithdrawalfromserviceofaircrafttypesthatenginessupport.Duringthis
phase:a.)Demandforenginesismuchweakerandvaluesstarttoapproachthecostofoverhaul;b.)Supplyincreasesasaircraft
areretiredfromservice;c.)Remainingenginesinthefleetaretradedonthebasisofmaintenancegreentimeorpartout.

9.0

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKET CONDITIONS AND VALUE PERFORMANCE

In the definition of Current Market Value (CMV), market conditions are assumed to be the unknown
variable. Theoretically, in a balanced market, an aircraft sold in half-life condition assumes that no
profit or loss results from maintenance status. In reality aircraft values, including maintenance
residual values, swing dramatically depending on supply and demand.
In periods of strong aircraft demand, the proportion of dollar cost premium attributed to above halflife status will range higher, whereas in a weak market the value will be minimal to zero dollars. The
same principal holds true when an aircrafts maintenance status is below half-life, although
proportionally the discounts will tend to be higher during weak market conditions, and lower during
strong market conditions. Figure 13 below illustrates the likely range of maintenance status
adjustments that could be achieved under the market conditions existing at the point of sale (i.e.
weak, balanced & strong).
F IGURE 13- L IKELY R ANGE OF H ALF -L IFE A DJUSTMENTS B ASED ON M ARKET C ONDITIONS
Market
Status
Weak
Balanced
Strong

Maintenance
Status
AboveHalfLife
BelowHalfLife
AboveHalfLife
BelowHalfLife
AboveHalfLife
BelowHalfLife

HalfLifeAdjustment
Likelihoodofnopremiumforhigherlevelsofmaintenancestatus
Likelihoodofsignificantdiscountforlowerlevelsofmaintenancestatus
Likelihoodofapremiumbutnotfulldollarfordollar
Likelihoodofadiscountashighasfulldollarfordollar
Likelihoodofapremiumbutnotfulldollarfordollar
Likelihoodofminimaldiscountforlowerlevelsofmaintenancestatus

aircraft taking into consideration strong, balanced, and weak market conditions. For ease of
explanation the market values is assumed to be unaffected by market conditions. In realty though,
aircraft market values are heavily influenced by recessions or sustained periods of economic
stagnation. Historically such events have depressed commercial aircraft values by varying degrees of
magnitude.
F IGURE 14- E XAMPLE : L IKELY M ARKET V ALUATIONS A SSUMING S TRONG , B ALANCED & W EAK M ARKET C ONDITIONS
Example:MtxAdjustedAppraisalbasedonMarketConditions
2006BuildA320200

Market
Value$

MtxHalflife
Adjust$
(2,000,000)

27,780,000
2,000,000
MarketValueSource:CollateralVerification

Aircraft Configuration & Value Perspective

Configurationdifferencesbetweenaircraftofthesametypemay,incertain
circumstances, lead to value adjustments.  Configuration improvements
suchasoperatingweightincreases,winglets,higherthrustengines,andthe
installationauxiliaryfueltankswillincreasevalue.
But modifications which are airlinespecific such as certain InFlight
Entertainments (IFE) systems and unique cabin seats will generally not
warrantanincreaseinaircraftvalue.

PotentialMarketAdjustedValues
Strong
Market
Below
$27.00M
Below
$29.00M

Balanced
Market
$25.00M
$26.00M
$27.00M
$28.00M

Weak
Market
Below
$25.00M
Below
$27.00M

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

Figure 14 illustrates the range of potential maintenance adjusted market values for a 2006 build A320

14

10.0 MAINTENANCE VALUE RECOGNITION IN LEASE TRANSACTIONS

The nature of operating leases requires that the lessee/operator pay the lessor/owner for maintenance
utility. The issue of whether an operator pays for maintenance utility is one of security; operators with
good credits often do not pay for maintenance utility, or if required, do so at the end of the lease
term, whereas operators with weak credit are required to pay for maintenance utility during the
course of the lease term. There are two principal ways that lessees pay lessors for maintenance
utility:
x

Cash Maintenance Reserve Payments. These are usually payments made on a regular,

usually monthly, basis by the lessee to the lessor and are generally based upon the age, and
utilization of the asset. Accumulated reserves are reimbursed (subject to limitations) after
each major maintenance event is completed.
End of Lease Financial Adjustment. This option would expose a lessor to a greater risk of

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

incurring maintenance costs and is thus usually only offered to better quality credits or airlines
that have demonstrated a good track record of payment. There are two types of end-of-lease
payment structures:

15

Mirror-In / Mirror-Out A mirror adjustment can either be one-way, where the Lessee

is required to pay an adjustment when a maintenance event is returned with less time
remaining than at delivery, or a two-way mirror whereby lessor may have to pay the
lessee for each event returned in better condition than at delivery.
Zero-Time A payment whereby the lessor receives payment for time used since last
overhaul or since new.

Ideally the reserve fund plus the condition of the aircraft should equal full life, and can be
arithmetically expressed as follows:
Net Reserve + Residual Condition = Full-life Condition

When calculating the overall economics of a lease transaction lessors often account the benefit
gained from the recognition of maintenance reserves as a source of incremental profit. The timing of
this recognition depends on the accounting policies each lessor follows.
During the lease term, lessors will traditionally manage their maintenance reserves as a costcovering exercise, used primarily for the benefit and integrity of the aircraft. In circumstance where
an aircraft is sold with a lease attached then normally the balance of the reserve fund transfers to the
new owner. However, if an aircraft is sold at the end of the lease term the lessor can benefit
financially by sweeping the balance of reserves.
When assessing the economics of a lease transaction, the lessor often accounts for the residual value
proceed from the sale of the aircraft at lease expiry. The future residual value assumes an aircrafts
maintenance status is at half-life, and if maintenance reserves are collected then theoretically the
proceeds from reserves plus the maintenance residual condition should amount to a value
approximately equivalent to full-life. Therefore, the use of maintenance reserves at the end of a
lease can potentially offer considerable financial benefits to the owner/lessor, but can also serve to
distort the true residual value of an aircraft.

11.0 FORECASTING VALUE CYCLES

One of the primary considerations of any forecast is to attempt to predict future outcomes by taking
into consideration both quantitative and qualitative experience drawn from past events. In the case of
aircraft future base values, the aim is to predict the value which the aircraft should achieve with
reference to the normal depreciation of the underlying asset. Its worth reminding the reader that
future base values assume the aircraft will be in half-life condition, and the base scenario assumes
markets are in equilibrium.
In forecasting an aircrafts half-life maintenance forecast one must take into consideration the
operational profile, age, and influence of inflation. Combining an aircrafts FBV plot/curve and its halflife maintenance cycle forecast into a single forecast enables one to define the maintenance
adjusted Future Base Value (FBV) forecast - this is undertaken by adding/subtracting an aircrafts
projected half-life maintenance status to its FBV plot/curve.
Figure 15 illustrates the maintenance adjusted Future Base Values forecast for an A320 aircraft taking
into consideration two different operational profiles; one assuming a flight segment of 1.8, and the
other a 1.0 flight segment. For aircraft of the same vintage and specification, one can reasonable
infer that the frequency during which its maintenance status occasions half-life becomes greater the
more severe its operational profile is, all else equal.

A320200MAINTENANCEADJUSTEDFUTUREBASEVALUEFORECAST

A320200MAINTENANCEADJUSTEDFUTUREBASEVALUEFORECAST

What influences this trend the greatest is the effect more severe operating profiles has on the time
on-wing characteristics of engines - the harsher the operational profile the greater the rate of
performance deterioration on engine modules and LLPs and the less time an engine remains on-wing.
Therefore, relative to other maintenance events, engine maintenance status should to be carefully
monitored given the greater influence it imparts on residual values of aircraft.

Engine Maintenance Value Perspective

Youngandpopularenginescanbereliedupontoregaintheiroriginal
market value when they have maintenance. However, Investors
shouldbewaryofanengineenteringintoaphaseofmarketdecline
when it starts to decrease in popularity. When the numbers of an
aircraft type in operation starts to diminish, the fleet of engines
supporting that aircraft fleet increases. The effect is an increasing
ratioofsparestoinstalledengines,whichweakenstheirmarketvalue.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

F IGURE 15-E XAMPLE M AINTENANCE A DJUSTED F UTURE B ASE V ALUE F ORECAST FOR D IFFERENT O PERATING P ROFILES

16

12.0 FRAMING THE OPTIMAL TRADING PERIOD

The recapture of dollar-for-dollar expenditures for maintenance status is rarely achieved, therefore
aircraft sellers should account for an optimal trading period that considers the timing of major
maintenance events. Alternatively, a buyer more than likely will discount the value of maintenance
status below half-life on a dollar-for-dollar basis if the conditions of the sale are distressed or if the
market conditions are weak. More importantly, framing when to trade an aircraft from a maintenance
status perspective should take into consideration the age of the aircraft (i.e. new, mature, or aging).
12.1 New-to-Mature To mitigate a penalty for status below half-life, or to maximize the recapture of
capital investment in major maintenance events, traders should consider targeting the transaction
during a phase where overall maintenance residual value is within a threshold of half-life. For new-tomature aircraft, a general rule is to target trading periods coinciding with an engines mid-life status
Figure 16.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

F IGURE 16- T HEORETICAL O PTIMAL T RADING F ORECAST F OR N EW TO M ID -L IFE A IRCRAFT

17

12.2 Mature-to-Aging Once the aircraft enters the mature-to-aging phase its maintenance status
takes on considerably more relevance. The effects of age results in higher airframe-related nonroutine maintenance costs, and the associated engine type will likely begin to incur more frequent,
and often more expensive shop visit costs. At some point during this phase the owner of the asset will
be forced to make a decision to either continue operating the aircraft (incurring subsequent higher
maintenance costs), or to sell the aircraft for its part-out value.
The value of an aircraft at this stage will be concentrated primarily through its engines, or more
concisely, through the maintenance status of its engines. Serviceable engines with lots of green time
remaining will have considerable more economic value than engines with timed-out modules and LLPs.
Consequently, the optimal trading period during this phase of an aircrafts life cycle will be primarily
driven by the overall condition of its engines.
12.2.1 A Caveat to Age and Value Cycle Although most valuation analysis will likely find aging
aircraft to be economically unfeasible, its important to distinguish between efficiency and the cost of
necessary levels of efficiency. Modern aircraft will traditionally incur lower direct operating costs, and
in particular maintenance costs, but require higher ownership costs (depreciation & financing).
Through lower capital costs, aging aircraft can achieve a relative economic advantage despite having
higher operating costs. Therefore, the principal to keep in mind is that the choice of an aircraft is
predicated upon the requirements of its mission and the resulting economics of that mission. Its the
specificity of the mission, the definition within context, which gives rise to value.

CONCLUSIONS

The value of maintenance status is rarely constant; the volatility of markets inherently translates
into volatility of aircraft market values, and by correlation, volatility in its maintenance status
valuation. In capacity shortage conditions planes are kept flying and the issue of maintenance
status takes on lesser significance. In a capacity surplus situation, aircraft which have poor
maintenance status are often scrapped.

Obtaining dollar-for-dollar premium for maintenance status is rarely achieved. To minimize the
potential for losses associated with maintenance investments, aircraft traders should account for
an optimal trading period that considers the age of the aircraft as well as the timing of major
maintenance events.

In forecasting the future value of maintenance, the operational profile, airframe age, and inflation
rate should be considered as an integral part of the methodologies used to assess the value of
maintenance.

After an aircraft reaches a certain age the main differentiator between specific aircraft of the same
vintage will often be the value in their maintenance status. Thus the position in the maintenance
cycle is a source of value difference between aircraft of the same type and vintage, and
consequently it is useful to quantify in monetary terms the value of maintenance status.

Although the life cycle of an aircraft engine is closely connected to that of the aircraft type (or
types) it supports, the experience of engine values over time bears little resemblance to that of an
aircraft. Whereas an airframe gradually deteriorates over time as flight hours and cycles
accumulate, appropriate maintenance can repetitively restore an engine to a near new condition
and value. Therefore, engine maintenance status needs to be carefully monitored given its
influence on aircraft market values.

MSG-3 and Airframe Valuation Perspective

Formodernaircrafttypes(e.g.B737NGfamilyandB777),thelettercheckdistinctionsareoftenlessimportant,sinceMSG3
taskorientatedmaintenanceprogramsareemployed.MaintenanceprogramsdevelopedwithMSG3havealltasksassigned
withvaryingintervals(i.e.flighthours,flightcycles,andcalendartime).Manyofthetaskscombinetwooftheseintervals.
Thisprocessallowsoperatorstogroupmaintenancetasksintopackagestoformmaintenancechecksinthemannerthatis
most efficient for them, rather than having tasks grouped into checks that are predefined by the Maintenance Planning
Document(MPD).Thisprocesspermitsmaximumutilizationoftaskintervals.
However,appraisersmustgivespecialtreatmenttoaircraftunderMSG3.Thetraditionalaircraftappraisalmethodofrelying
on the D checks to zerotime the airframe is made considerable more difficult under MSG3.  One can argue that the
residualvalueofanaircraftmaintainedunderMSG3shouldbehigher,becausetheoverallconditionofanMSG3maintained
aircraftshouldbetheoreticallygreaterthanonethatisrunout.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

A key risk exposure to aircraft investment is asset risk, with the value of the aircraft at sale being a
critical component of overall return on investment. The investment return will often be influenced by
the aircrafts maintenance status, and therefore trading in commercial aircraft suggests ongoing
monitoring and forecasting of an aircrafts maintenance status. The analysis of the relationship
between an aircrafts value and its maintenance status reveals the following trends:

18

APPENDIX 1 FACTORS INFLUENCING AIRCRAFT VALUES

Appraisers weigh in a number of factors when valuing an aircraft, and key among them is the aircraft
type, model, and age, and whether the asset is in good condition, with no damage history and all
Airworthiness Directives (ADs) and significant Service Bulletins (SBs) complied with. They also assume
it has a full and complete set of technical records and documentation. The key determinants that
influence an aircrafts market value can be categorized by: 1.) Manufacturer determinants, 2.) Aircraft
determinants, and 3.) Market determinants.
1.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

2.

19

Manufacturer Determinants
a.

Pricing strategy. If OEM deep discounts persist the residual values in turn will
not return to their historical levels relative to appraised base values.

b.

Manufacturer demise. The demise of either the airframe or engine manufacturer

will often significantly impair residual values.

c.

Production runs. Long production runs tend to enhance aircraft residual values.

d.

Production cycle.
residual values.

Early and final phase production units tend to have lower

Aircraft Determinants
a.

Aircraft age. Residual values become less stable as an aircraft ages.

b.

Aircraft specifications. Gross weight configuration, engine configuration, flightdeck configuration. In general, generic is good, uniqueness is bad. Multiple
variants divide the fleet into small sub-fleets and consequent markets.

c.

Aircraft operating history. The aircraft under consideration is used in typical

operations with an average utilization and sector length as might be expected for
the class of aircraft.

d.

Aircraft family and technology. Aircraft families are the most attractive they
provide fleet and capacity planning flexibility. Modern technology, particularly
engine technology improves secondary market prospects since it lowers operating
costs and prolongs useful life.

e.

Aircraft operating economics. Payload characteristics (seat & cargo capacity),

range capability, and speed characteristics. Generally speaking, comparison of
ownership cost per operating cost per block-hour. The key economic expense
drivers of an aircraft are: maintenance, fuel, and ownership costs.
On a
comparative basis, similar-sized older and younger aircraft will have the same
crew-related and ownership costs, so fuel and maintenance will be the main cost
elements (operating) that influence total costs.

f.

Aircraft secondary market prospects. Conversion to freighter is the largest

secondary market. The supply of aircraft for freighter conversion always exceeds
the requirements. Another market is parting-out for rotables, engines, and other
components. The aircraft with the best chance of realizing good residual values
are those that are relatively young and sell into the secondary market early.

3.

Market Determinants
a.

Market conditions. Strong, normal/balanced, weak. Actual residual values will

be closer to base values in normal market conditions.

b.

Market Liquidity. Appraisers will look at the number of planes in service and on
order, the number of operators, and the breadth of the manufacturers product
line, among other factors. Narrowbody aircraft are typically considered to be
slightly more liquid, other things being equal, than widebody aircraft.

c.

Airline profits margins. There is strong correlation between airline profits and
aircraft values. In general, as profits increase so do aircraft values. When traffic
volumes are high, planes are filled and they operate at high utilization. When
traffic volume is down, over capacity develops in the market ticket prices go
down in an effort to fill the planes, and surplus aircraft are retired or sold off.

d.

Airline traffic growth. A good measure for demand for aircraft is air traffic
growth, which can be expressed in the growth of Revenue Passenger Miles (RPM)
flown per year.

1.
2.

3.

Go to the BLS web site at: http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/srgate

You will then be prompted to enter the series ids for the data you wish to retrieve. You may
select one or more series id's at a time. Below is a description of each series id.
a. ciu2023211000000i - NAICS Wages & Salaries Aircraft Manufacturing
b. wpu03thru15 - PPI - Industrial Commodities Index
Type in the Series id, select the years you wish to view & click to retrieve data.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

APPENDIX 2 BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DATA RETRIEVAL INSTRUCTIONS

20

APPENDIX 3 EXAMPLE: HALF-LIFE MAINTENANCE FORECAST

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

A320200CFM565B4/P27,000lbsMtxSTATUSFORECAST
AnnualFH: 3,600 FlightLeg:
Fulllife
MtxConsumed
MaintenanceValueRestored
Mo Value$
Monthly$
Net$
4C/6YRSI 8C/12YRSI Gear
APU
Modules
LLPs
0 11,125,000

1 11,125,000 114,886
114,886

2 11,125,000 114,886
229,772

3 11,125,000 114,886
344,658

4 11,125,000 114,886
459,544

5 11,125,000 114,886
574,431

6 11,125,000 114,886
689,317

7 11,125,000 114,886
804,203

8 11,125,000 114,886
919,089

9 11,125,000 114,886
1,033,975

10 11,125,000 114,886
1,148,861

11 11,125,000 114,886
1,263,747

12 11,125,000 114,886
1,378,633

13 11,125,000 114,886
1,493,519

14 11,125,000 114,886
1,608,406

15 11,125,000 114,886
1,723,292

16 11,125,000 114,886
1,838,178

17 11,125,000 114,886
1,953,064

18 11,125,000 114,886
2,067,950

19 11,125,000 114,886
2,182,836

20 11,125,000 114,886
2,297,722

21 11,125,000 114,886
2,412,608

22 11,125,000 114,886
2,527,494

23 11,125,000 114,886
2,642,381

24 11,125,000 114,886
2,757,267

25 11,125,000 114,886
2,872,153

26 11,125,000 114,886
2,987,039

27 11,125,000 114,886
3,101,925

28 11,125,000 114,886
3,216,811

29 11,125,000 114,886
3,331,697

30 11,125,000 114,886
3,446,583

31 11,125,000 114,886
3,561,469

32 11,125,000 114,886
3,676,356

33 11,125,000 114,886
3,526,242

265,000

34 11,125,000 114,886
3,641,128

35 11,125,000 114,886
3,756,014

36 11,125,000 114,886
3,870,900

37 11,125,000 114,886
3,985,786

38 11,125,000 114,886
4,100,672

39 11,125,000 114,886
4,215,558

40 11,125,000 114,886
4,330,444

41 11,125,000 114,886
4,445,331

42 11,125,000 114,886
4,560,217

43 11,125,000 114,886
4,675,103

44 11,125,000 114,886
4,789,989

45 11,125,000 114,886
4,904,875

46 11,125,000 114,886
5,019,761

47 11,125,000 114,886
5,134,647

48 11,125,000 114,886
5,249,533

49 11,125,000 114,886
5,364,419

50 11,125,000 114,886
5,479,306

51 11,125,000 114,886
5,594,192

52 11,125,000 114,886
5,709,078

53 11,125,000 114,886
5,823,964

54 11,125,000 114,886
5,938,850

55 11,125,000 114,886
6,053,736

56 11,125,000 114,886
6,168,622

57 11,125,000 114,886
6,283,508

58 11,125,000 114,886
6,398,394

59 11,125,000 114,886
6,513,281

60 11,125,000 114,886
6,628,167

61 11,125,000 114,886
6,743,053

62 11,125,000 114,886
6,857,939

63 11,125,000 114,886
6,972,825

64 11,125,000 114,886
7,087,711

65 11,125,000 114,886
7,202,597

66 11,125,000 114,886
7,052,483

265,000

67 11,125,000 114,886
7,167,369

68 11,125,000 114,886
7,282,256

69 11,125,000 114,886
7,397,142

70 11,125,000 114,886
7,512,028

71 11,125,000 114,886
7,626,914

72 11,125,000 114,886
6,961,800 780,000

21

1.80
MtxResidual
Residual$ Residual%
11,125,000
100%
11,010,114
99%
10,895,228
98%
10,780,342
97%
10,665,456
96%
10,550,569
95%
10,435,683
94%
10,320,797
93%
10,205,911
92%
10,091,025
91%
9,976,139
90%
9,861,253
89%
9,746,367
88%
9,631,481
87%
9,516,594
86%
9,401,708
85%
9,286,822
83%
9,171,936
82%
9,057,050
81%
8,942,164
80%
8,827,278
79%
8,712,392
78%
8,597,506
77%
8,482,619
76%
8,367,733
75%
8,252,847
74%
8,137,961
73%
8,023,075
72%
7,908,189
71%
7,793,303
70%
7,678,417
69%
7,563,531
68%
7,448,644
67%
7,598,758
68%
7,483,872
67%
7,368,986
66%
7,254,100
65%
7,139,214
64%
7,024,328
63%
6,909,442
62%
6,794,556
61%
6,679,669
60%
6,564,783
59%
6,449,897
58%
6,335,011
57%
6,220,125
56%
6,105,239
55%
5,990,353
54%
5,875,467
53%
5,760,581
52%
5,645,694
51%
5,530,808
50%
5,415,922
49%
5,301,036
48%
5,186,150
47%
5,071,264
46%
4,956,378
45%
4,841,492
44%
4,726,606
42%
4,611,719
41%
4,496,833
40%
4,381,947
39%
4,267,061
38%
4,152,175
37%
4,037,289
36%
3,922,403
35%
4,072,517
37%
3,957,631
36%
3,842,744
35%
3,727,858
34%
3,612,972
32%
3,498,086
31%
4,163,200
37%

Mtx
HalfTime$
5,562,500
5,447,614
5,332,728
5,217,842
5,102,956
4,988,069
4,873,183
4,758,297
4,643,411
4,528,525
4,413,639
4,298,753
4,183,867
4,068,981
3,954,094
3,839,208
3,724,322
3,609,436
3,494,550
3,379,664
3,264,778
3,149,892
3,035,006
2,920,119
2,805,233
2,690,347
2,575,461
2,460,575
2,345,689
2,230,803
2,115,917
2,001,031
1,886,144
2,036,258
1,921,372
1,806,486
1,691,600
1,576,714
1,461,828
1,346,942
1,232,056
1,117,169
1,002,283
887,397
772,511
657,625
542,739
427,853
312,967
198,081
83,194
(31,692)
(146,578)
(261,464)
(376,350)
(491,236)
(606,122)
(721,008)
(835,894)
(950,781)
(1,065,667)
(1,180,553)
(1,295,439)
(1,410,325)
(1,525,211)
(1,640,097)
(1,489,983)
(1,604,869)
(1,719,756)
(1,834,642)
(1,949,528)
(2,064,414)
(1,399,300)

A320200CFM565B4/P27,000lbsMtxSTATUSFORECAST
AnnualFH: 3,600 FlightLeg:
Fulllife
MtxConsumed
MaintenanceValueRestored
Mo Value$ Monthly$
Net$
4C/6YRSI 8C/12YRSI Gear
APU
Modules
LLPs
73 11,242,000 116,511 7,078,311

74 11,242,000 116,511 7,194,822

75 11,242,000 116,511 7,311,333

76 11,242,000 116,511 7,427,844

77 11,242,000 116,511 7,544,356

78 11,242,000 116,511 7,660,867

79 11,242,000 116,511 7,777,378

80 11,242,000 116,511 7,893,889

81 11,242,000 116,511 2,068,400

4,470,000 2,180,000
82 11,772,000 153,904 2,222,304

83 11,772,000 153,904 2,376,207

84 11,772,000 153,904 2,530,111

85 11,772,000 153,904 2,684,015

86 11,772,000 153,904 2,837,919

87 11,772,000 153,904 2,991,822

88 11,772,000 153,904 3,145,726

89 11,772,000 153,904 3,299,630

90 11,772,000 153,904 3,453,533

91 11,772,000 153,904 3,607,437

92 11,772,000 153,904 3,761,341

93 11,772,000 153,904 3,915,244

94 11,772,000 153,904 4,069,148

95 11,772,000 153,904 4,223,052

96 11,772,000 153,904 4,376,956

97 11,772,000 153,904 4,530,859

98 11,772,000 153,904 4,684,763

99 11,772,000 153,904 4,573,667

265,000

100 11,772,000 153,904 4,727,570

101 11,772,000 153,904 4,881,474

102 11,772,000 153,904 5,035,378

103 11,772,000 153,904 5,189,281

104 11,772,000 153,904 5,343,185

105 11,772,000 153,904 5,497,089

106 11,772,000 153,904 5,650,993

107 11,772,000 153,904 5,804,896

108 11,772,000 153,904 5,958,800

109 11,772,000 153,904 6,112,704

110 11,772,000 153,904 6,266,607

111 11,772,000 153,904 6,420,511

112 11,772,000 153,904 6,574,415

113 11,772,000 153,904 6,728,319

114 11,772,000 153,904 6,882,222

115 11,772,000 153,904 7,036,126

116 11,772,000 153,904 7,190,030

117 11,772,000 153,904 7,343,933

118 11,772,000 153,904 7,497,837

119 11,772,000 153,904 7,651,741

120 11,772,000 153,904 7,385,644

420,000

121 11,772,000 153,904 7,539,548

122 11,772,000 153,904 7,693,452

123 11,772,000 153,904 7,847,356

124 11,772,000 153,904 8,001,259

125 11,772,000 153,904 8,155,163

126 11,772,000 153,904 8,309,067

127 11,772,000 153,904 8,462,970

128 11,772,000 153,904 8,616,874

129 11,772,000 153,904 8,770,778

130 11,772,000 153,904 8,924,681

131 11,772,000 153,904 9,078,585

132 11,772,000 153,904 8,967,489

265,000

133 11,772,000 153,904 9,121,393

134 11,772,000 153,904 9,275,296

135 11,772,000 153,904 2,629,200

5,000,000 2,160,000
136 11,772,000 153,904 2,783,104

137 11,772,000 153,904 2,937,007

138 11,772,000 153,904 3,090,911

139 11,772,000 153,904 3,244,815

140 11,772,000 153,904 3,398,719

141 11,772,000 153,904 3,552,622

142 11,772,000 153,904 3,706,526

143 11,772,000 153,904 3,860,430

144 11,772,000 153,904 2,267,333 897,000 850,000

1.80
MtxResidual
Residual$ Residual%
4,163,689
37%
4,047,178
36%
3,930,667
35%
3,814,156
34%
3,697,644
33%
3,581,133
32%
3,464,622
31%
3,348,111
30%
9,173,600
82%
9,549,696
81%
9,395,793
80%
9,241,889
79%
9,087,985
77%
8,934,081
76%
8,780,178
75%
8,626,274
73%
8,472,370
72%
8,318,467
71%
8,164,563
69%
8,010,659
68%
7,856,756
67%
7,702,852
65%
7,548,948
64%
7,395,044
63%
7,241,141
62%
7,087,237
60%
7,198,333
61%
7,044,430
60%
6,890,526
59%
6,736,622
57%
6,582,719
56%
6,428,815
55%
6,274,911
53%
6,121,007
52%
5,967,104
51%
5,813,200
49%
5,659,296
48%
5,505,393
47%
5,351,489
45%
5,197,585
44%
5,043,681
43%
4,889,778
42%
4,735,874
40%
4,581,970
39%
4,428,067
38%
4,274,163
36%
4,120,259
35%
4,386,356
37%
4,232,452
36%
4,078,548
35%
3,924,644
33%
3,770,741
32%
3,616,837
31%
3,462,933
29%
3,309,030
28%
3,155,126
27%
3,001,222
25%
2,847,319
24%
2,693,415
23%
2,804,511
24%
2,650,607
23%
2,496,704
21%
9,142,800
78%
8,988,896
76%
8,834,993
75%
8,681,089
74%
8,527,185
72%
8,373,281
71%
8,219,378
70%
8,065,474
69%
7,911,570
67%
9,504,667
81%

Mtx
HalfTime$
(1,457,311)
(1,573,822)
(1,690,333)
(1,806,844)
(1,923,356)
(2,039,867)
(2,156,378)
(2,272,889)
3,552,600
3,663,696
3,509,793
3,355,889
3,201,985
3,048,081
2,894,178
2,740,274
2,586,370
2,432,467
2,278,563
2,124,659
1,970,756
1,816,852
1,662,948
1,509,044
1,355,141
1,201,237
1,312,333
1,158,430
1,004,526
850,622
696,719
542,815
388,911
235,007
81,104
(72,800)
(226,704)
(380,607)
(534,511)
(688,415)
(842,319)
(996,222)
(1,150,126)
(1,304,030)
(1,457,933)
(1,611,837)
(1,765,741)
(1,499,644)
(1,653,548)
(1,807,452)
(1,961,356)
(2,115,259)
(2,269,163)
(2,423,067)
(2,576,970)
(2,730,874)
(2,884,778)
(3,038,681)
(3,192,585)
(3,081,489)
(3,235,393)
(3,389,296)
3,256,800
3,102,896
2,948,993
2,795,089
2,641,185
2,487,281
2,333,378
2,179,474
2,025,570
3,618,667

1.

Leighton, P (The Aircraft Value Analysis Company). Assessment of Aircraft

Values Current Market Conditions versus Historical Trends, May 2009

2.

Aircraft Value News. Half to Full Life Maintenance Adjustment Continues to

Confuse Values, Vol. XVIII No. 24, Nov, 2009, pp 2-3.

3.

Aircraft Value News. Older Aircraft Face Junkyard That Much Sooner, Jun, 2009,
pp 2-3.

4.

Dailey, C. Holding Up Nicely, AirFinance Journal, Sep, 2007.

5.

Sheridan, M. & Pieniazek. Residual Values Forecasting with Confidence,

Aircraft Finance Annual

6.

Kelly, D (Avitas). Forecasting Aircraft Values: An Appraisers Perspective,

AirFinance Annual. pp. 24-30

7.

Gallagher, T. Aircraft Finance and Airline Financial Analysis in the Fifth Cycle of
the Jet Age. The Handbook of Airline Economics. Section 4, PP 223-234

8.

Hallerstrom, N (PK AirFinance). (2000). The Aircraft Value Cycle, pp. 8-12.

9.

Airline Fleet & Asset Management. Allowing for Maintenance Condition, Issue
Oct/Sep, 2001, pp 48-55.

10.

Airline Fleet & Asset Management. Engine Values Over Time, Issue Jul/Aug,
2001, pp 32-39.

11.

Lacey, N. & Stein, A.

Airline Maintenance Programs A Challenge for the
Appraiser / Part 1 Trends in Airline Maintenance Practices will Require Appraisers
to Alter their Methods, 2003

12.

Lacey, N. & Stein, A.

Airline Maintenance Programs A Challenge for the
Appraiser / Part 2 Maintenance Programs and Aircraft Values, 2003

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
x

I am deeply indebted to Chris Dailey from Jackson Square Aviation and Colin Bole
from ILFC, whose help, insightful suggestions and encouragement assisted me in the
research and writing of this project study.

SOURCES OF DATA
x

Aircraft values from Collateral Verifications - an aircraft appraisal and aviation

consulting firm led by Gueric Dechavanne, an appraiser certified by the International
Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT).

About the author:

Shannon Ackert is Vice President of Capital Markets at Jackson Square Aviation, a leading
lessor of commercial aircraft headquartered in San Francisco, CA. He received his B.S. in
Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and MBA from the University
of San Francisco. Mr. Ackert started his career in aviation as a flight test engineer for McDonnell
Douglas and also worked in senior engineering roles at United Airlines as well as United
Technologies. In 2000, Mr. Ackert transitioned to aircraft leasing where has specialized in
identifying and quantifying the expected risk and return of aircraft investments, as well as
providing technical and market advisory services. Mr. Ackert has published numerous research
reports focused on aircraft maintenance economics.

The Relationship between an Aircrafts Value and its Maintenance Status | 4/15/2011

REFERENCES

22