Electric Aircraft Are Coming. But Is the Supply Chain Ready? — with Shail Oza

From vertiports to predictive maintenance, aviation is entering a new era — and the supply chain is under pressure.

I sat down with Shail Oza, Director of Supply Chain at WestJet, to unpack how electric aviation, flight analytics, and new infrastructure are going to reshape airline operations. We get into what it takes to stand up an aircraft fleet from scratch, how real-time data is turning maintenance from a cost center into a revenue protector, and where eVTOL, drones, and vertiports fit into the next wave of fleets — plus how fleet managers can actually start preparing for it now.

Chapters:

0:00 — The airline industry is about to transform

1:33 — Shail Oza explains the aviation supply chain

4:44 — Standing up a new aircraft fleet from scratch

8:44 — Real-time aircraft data and predictive maintenance

12:25 — 24/7 maintenance, uptime, and inventory strategy

14:10 — Pandemic shocks, tariffs, and fragile aviation supply chains

23:44 — Data, analytics, and making maintenance a revenue protector

29:49 — Electric aircraft, eVTOL, and the next wave of fleets

35:50 — Drones, Zipline, and last-mile delivery by air

40:05 — Vertiports, backyard launchpads, and new infrastructure

44:25 — How fleet managers can prepare for aviation's next era

Guest: Shail Oza, Director of Supply Chain, WestJet — LinkedIn