The COVID-19 pandemic is having a wide range of consequences for PPG's global businesses, some of which will last well beyond the current crisis. The company's global director of coatings and sealants for aerospace, Sam Millikin, explained that, in addition to reductions in the commercial aviation segment, customer operational changes have resulted in more frequent orders with lower product volume per order."By partnering with our customers and providing value-added automatic e coating process products and solutions, we are continuing to adapt to changing market dynamics."

According to Millikin, the airline industry will experience a slow and gradual recovery that will take two to three years before returning to pre-COVID-19 levels of profitability."It is expected that domestic air travel in most parts of the world will begin to recover by the middle of 2021 and will reach levels comparable to those seen in 2019."The aerospace coatings segment will continue to experience declines in 2020 compared to 2019, but we expect to see a full recovery by 2023 as air travel resumes its normal course and more people feel comfortable traveling again."

Sherwin-Williams Aerospace commissioned Aircraft Maintenance Technology magazine to conduct an extensive survey of decision-makers in the aircraft maintenance and repair (MRO) marketplace in the United States during the first quarter of 2021. According to the results of the survey, 44% of the more than 200 participants reported that the pandemic had little or no effect on them. The company's global marketing manager, Julie Voisin, stated that 29% of respondents said it had a negative effect, with another 15% stating that it had a dramatic negative effect. "That being said,"However, 13% of respondents reported that their business actually increased as a result of the pandemic."

In the survey we conducted last quarter on the long-term effects of COVID-19, we discovered that only 12% of respondents believed the aerospace market would return to pre-COVID-19 levels this year; another 42% believed the market would return the following year (in 2022); an additional 26% believed the market would return the following year (in 2023); and finally, the remaining 20% stated they believed the aerospace market would not return until 202. "

The reduction in aircraft production, of course, has resulted in a decrease in demand for powder coating booths, explained René Lang, director – head of Aviation at Mankiewicz."In addition, fewer flights mean less liquidity for the airlines and less funding for refurbishment programs. Not only did this result in a decrease in demand for electro-coating equipment in general, but it also resulted in an increase in spontaneous call-offs and a greater emphasis on smaller maintenance programs."