Willis Lease Finance eyes Asia-Pacific engine repair growth with new Malaysia centre

Singapore Technologies Engineering

08/09/2026 02:58

Company targets Asia-Pacific's surging engine maintenance market with Malaysia repair centre
Construction expected to complete in first quarter of 2027
Facility to focus initially on light maintenance visits for CFM56 and V2500 engines
By Julie Zhu
HONG KONG, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. aircraft engine lessor Willis Lease Finance Corp WLFC.O is targeting surging engine maintenance demand across Asia-Pacific, with its new Malaysian repair facility the first step in a broader regional push, its CEO said. 
The Nasdaq-listed company announced plans in late August to build its third global engine repair centre in Johor in southern Malaysia, rather than in nearby Singapore where it has an office and companies like ST Engineering STEG.SI and GE Aerospace GE.N have large maintenance operations.
"Singapore is a fantastic location, but it's gotten so busy over the past decade that it's hard to find space and a workforce locally," CEO Austin Willis told Reuters in an interview on Friday, pointing to Johor's status as a special economic zone as a further draw. 
Like other Western aviation firms, WLFC is looking to secure a foothold in a region where aircraft fleets are expanding far faster than the maintenance infrastructure needed to support them, a gap that analysts say could leave airlines scrambling for engine repair capacity for years to come. 
Citing Airbus data, Willis said Asia-Pacific off-wing maintenance demand, which includes engine maintenance and repair, was forecast to grow from $37.1 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2044, with the region expected to account for nearly half of all new aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years. 
The 33,000-square-foot (3,065-square-metre) facility in Johor will employ more than 25 people within two to three years, Willis said. It will initially focus on light maintenance work, known in the industry as "hospital shop" visits, for CFM56 and V2500 engines used on older Airbus and Boeing narrow-bodies, before expanding into the newer CFM LEAP family and Pratt & Whitney's GTF engines.
Construction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027, and the centre is designed to scale similarly to the company's existing facilities in Florida and Wales. WLFC declined to disclose the size of the investment.
The site will initially serve WLFC's own engine portfolio alongside a recently signed storage and lease agreement with Pratt & Whitney, with third-party airline customers expected to follow as capacity ramps up, Willis said. 
As global supply chain constraints ease and Boeing and Airbus deliveries pick up, airlines will increasingly face a choice on ageing engines nearing retirement, Willis said. 
One option is an expensive full overhaul costing at least $10 million; the other is a cheaper, faster hospital-type shop visit. The company would serve the latter market, he said.
Beyond Malaysia, Willis said the company would continue investing in the region primarily through acquiring and leasing more aviation assets. 

 (Reporting by Julie Zhu; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((julie.zhu1@thomsonreuters.com;))