The projected three-year market for heavy maintenance visits (HMV) and C checks on Airbus A330-series widebodies is among the smaller of those tracked for major airframes, but it remains attractive at just more than $1 billion, split nearly evenly between -200 and -300 models and concentrated among a handful of carriers.
You can't manage what you can't measure. That dictum is repeated so often, that you may tune it out. But performance metrics and key performance indicators (KPI) are a critical component to a lean MRO or Six Sigma initiative.
In the coming years, aircraft maintenance data will likely shift to cloud storage, which is simply a much more economical way of storing, sharing, managing and using data.
Lucerne, Switzerland From Test Flights To Fees Concerns In an industry as dynamic and as driven by technological innovation as aviation, it is only natural to witness an evolution of the regulatory framework. Europe, of course, is not immune and, even if most of the recent regulatory efforts have been in the field of flight operations, the maintenance and engineering component of the aviation business also has had to adapt to a set of regulatory changes.
Alejandro Fischer Director for planning and fleet diagnosis, LAN Airlines Birthplace: Santiago, Chile Education: Industrial civil engineering, Universidad Catolica de Chile Career: Contracts and guarantees senior manager at LAN (2006-08); supplies and logistics senior manager (2008-10); development director (2010-May 2012).
Do you ever wonder whether you have too many electronic devices? In my case, keeping my mix of work and personal Blackberrys, iPhones, iPads and laptops charged and continually available seems redundant sometimes. I very much appreciate how Apple has simplified electronic media and data usage—allowing me to easily update it, sync it between multiple devices simultaneously, and back it up in a cloud with a simple click. Given all of the log-ins and passwords we have to remember, using one in a secure environment to complete multiple tasks quickly is simply a joy.
For North American widebody airframe MROs, the market dynamics are changing, as vendors' focus shifts to the midsize Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 families and away from the 747, whose maintenance has evolved into a niche business.
In the quest to reduce errors and improve safety, managers too often focus on the wrong questions. They ask things like, “How can we reduce our incident rate?” and “How can I get workers to pick up debris on the shop floor?” What they should be asking is something like: What is keeping technicians from doing what they already know is right?
The June 7 initial bid deadline for bankrupt Canadian MRO provider Aveos's assets passed with mixed news, including indications that Air Canada is willing to help land work for the buyers of the engine and component businesses, while no bids were received for Aveos's airframe assets.
3. Super Spares Distributor: A J Walter Aviation Applications: A J Walter operates out of London, Dubai, Singapore and Miami with aircraft spares stock, and also has a presence in Central Europe and on the U.S. West Coast.
Consolidation of MRO providers continues, with some buyers adding software to their hard hangar assets. Moelis Capital Partners (MCP) recently acquired its third aviation services platform in the past two years with the purchase of Mxi Technologies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but industry analysts say it was valued at less than $100 million.
The economic life of the ATR 72 is 70,000 cycles, but based on innovation from the manufacturer and operators alike, ATR is “evaluating the possibility” of setting the limit even higher. Cycle ceilings are important, but it's the optimization of operations during that economic lifetime that matters most.
For U.S. Boeing 747-400 operators, going outside the country for heavy airframe maintenance may be the only choice, as North American MRO capacity for the huge aircraft becomes increasingly limited. It's easy to see why, given what has become a relatively small number of aircraft.
4. Innovative Inventory Distributor: Aero Inventory Applications: AeroInv.com offers new features such as single and multiple parts searches, and creation and printing of quotations. Its central distribution hub is at Singapore's Changi Airport.
1. All the Rave Manufacturer: IMS Applications: IMS has 10 airline customers flying with the Rave IFE system. Specifications: Each seatback display unit in the seat-centric IFE system contains its own content with on-demand audio and video. Air Niugini recently added Rave, with first installations to start early next year. www.imsco-us.com Link 600
What started as routine maintenance for Transaero Airlines turned into an MRO acquisition. The Russian airline had chosen Shannon Repair Services (SRS) to refurbish its aircraft to make them Wifi-enabled, but subsequently decided to invest in the MRO and take it over. The move is giving Transaero access to another in-house maintenance base.
With a record year in the offing for 2012, the three-year worldwide market for overhauls of International Aero Engines V2500 medium turbofans is expected to top $6 billion, half of which will come from carriers in the U.S., China and the U.K.
Avia Solutions Group Chairman Gediminas Ziemelis talks about how the fast-growing company primarily targets the 300 airlines within a 3-hr. flight of its headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, but operates from 40 locations worldwide.
The first-stage engine blade on one of Delta Air Lines' fleet of 152 CFM CFM56-7 engines may cost around $1,000, but the ramifications of unmitigated pitting and cracking can cost much more in unscheduled maintenance. To prevent this corrosion pitting, fretting, stress corrosion cracking or foreign object damage from causing major problems in its fleet of 152 CFM56-7 engines, Delta TechOps partnered with Lambda Technologies of Cincinnati to develop a technology called low-plasticity burnishing (LPB).
The FAA's new proposed repair station regulations appear to mix much-needed improvements with bureaucratic burdens that may ultimately increase the complexity of Part 145 certification and compliance, initial analysis of the major proposal reveals.
