Exclusive Speaker Insights Before MRO Asia-Pacific

Speaker for Technology Revolutionizing MRO

Klaus Sonnenleiter, CEO, Luftronix

"Precision is the first step - without it, the utility of the collected data suffers. The biggest challenge, and the hardest thing to figure out, is to fly accurately enough to make sure the sensor readings the UAV collects can be attributed to a precise location on the aircraft. All UAVs suffer from a varying amount of drift during normal operations, even without wind. For this reason, we rely on optical sensors to constantly verify the location and correct the coordinates in the metadata. Once the precision problem is solved, it all becomes a matter of carrying the proper sensors and interpreting the data."

Moderator for Emerging MRO Markets in Asia Pacific

Sunny Mirchandani | General Manager HAECO Spirit AeroSystems

"Aviation in Asia Pacific region is growing at an unprecedented pace.Today’s leaders in the MRO industry are constantly seeking new opportunities for growth or expansion. Given the current volatile economy and the cyclical nature of MRO industry, we try to stay ahead by forming strategic alliances with OEMs, partnering with upcoming airlines, and seeking expansion opportunities in new regions."

Moderator for Technology Revolutionizing MRO

Stephen O'Brien | Director Of Operations Aviation Services Research Center (ASRC) Hong Kong

"We have several completed projects which are used or being implemented in the local MRO industry. A very promising project is the automatic analysis of surface pitting on turbine blades using advanced vision techniques and artificial intelligence software. ...It will save considerable amounts of man-hours and actually gives accurate measuring and data records, which are currently not available. We have been successfully undergoing trials with the methodology, and upon completion, the process will be adopted by the local MRO industry. Although the area was originally targeted at engine repair, we have been asked to do further research on airframes for corrosion inspection."

Speaker for Applications of Technology to Improve MRO Efficiency

Norbert Reiter | Deputy General Manager Ameco Beijing

"New technology deployments also require a mindset change. We need to make our people buy in. Our people should not only export their knowledge, they also need to import it."

Speaker for Applications of Technology to Improve MRO Efficiency

James Kornberg | Director Engineering and Maintenance Innovation Air France KLM

"Start small...experimentations and prototyping involving the end-user is key for a new technology deployment."

Moderator for Lessors' Advice

Kenneth Coursey | Fleet Management Director AWAS

"The most expensive mistake an airline can make when returning an aircraft is to avoid doing borescope inspections of the engines and APU when the aircraft is removed from service for the lease return check.
Defects found after the lease return demo flight expose an airline to additional costs, which could have been better managed if found at removal from service."

Speaker at Lessors' Advice

Vincent H.M. Lam | Senior Vice President Cabot Aviation

What is the most expensive mistake that your airline customers make?

"Buying a plane they couldn't afford...they went bust a year later."

Pandu Dewanamprio | Manager, Engine & APU Shop Batam Aero Technic (Lion Air Group)

Speaker at Emerging MRO Markets in Asia Pacific

"Asia Pacific's energetic market enthusiastically grows with demand of new technologies and supports. One-stop MRO service with humble and sincere relationship is the key to sustainable growth."

Session Leader for The Balance between Aircraft Reliability and Operational Cost

Rahul Shah | SVP & Managing Director Middle East, Africa and India Operations AAR

"This will always change dependent on who you are, where you operate and the way in which you operate. To me, as a low cost carrier, the most important factor is the benefit of the cost of the reliability. The reliability centered maintenance is paramount as it is the process of determining the most effective maintenance approach which incorporates preventative, predictive, proactive and reactive maintenance. However, with operational cost and reliability battling against each other this can be seen differently depending on the operator, operating schedule, operating condition."

Session Leader for The Balance between Aircraft Reliability and Operational Cost

Augustine Tai | Services & Support Director Commercial Aviation Embraer Asia Pacific

"Today's modern aircraft are rich in data... Using digital technologies, we're able to perform real time monitoring of the health of systems onboard the aircraft. We're able to find a good balance between component reliability versus the cost of the component failing and the direct impact on the airline's daily operations."

Session Leader for The Balance between Aircraft Reliability and Operational Cost

James Barrington | Group Director Airframe Services HAECO

"MROs need to present the value they offer to airlines to a wider audience than just the engineering procurement teams.
Aircraft availability, and therefore utilization, is a key driver of airline profitability, so MROs need to explain to the wider airline audience when turnaround times are improved as aircraft planners, not engineering procurement, will be pleased to pay for this time."

Session Leader for the MRO Financing Workshop

Francois Dubrulle | President of the Board, Director The Green Airliner Singapore

What are the first steps to a smooth and successful process in structuring a sound financial & technical agreement?

"Listening to gather insights & intelligence. The world is becoming increasingly cluttered and in order to understand what businesses need, we need to pause and listen."

Speaker for Technology Revolutionizing MRO

Eric Beauregard | VP Executive AV&R

“Today’s manufacturing tolerance on the new engine parts are getting tighter than ever. The automated processes will have to be highly adaptive to account for these new tolerances and for the fact that each part has evolved differently through their life in an engine.”

Speaker For Intelligent Aviation and Making the Unknowns Known

Subhranshu Sekhar Das | VP & Practice Head, Aerospace, Defense & Security Practice, Asia Pacific | Frost Sullivan

"In the last few years, we have witnessed that a number of South East Asian in-house airline MRO operators are planning to spin off their business units and come out of their wholly owned parent holding structure. As MRO operators continue to feel the pressure from parent airline and cost escalations of vendors, they are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of management to make their operations profitable and streamline their portfolios. The trend is clear and decisive as the operators need to move from a cost center operation to a profit center."

Speaker for Technology Revolutionizing MRO

Nicholas YEO Chang Yee Technical Director for Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre

What is the one hurdle the aviation industry must overcome to embrace and accelerate change?

"Ability to change. People are afraid of changes as it affects their livelihood. We only get to what we are because of our efforts to continue to pursue changes through innovation."

Speaker for MRO Financing

John Cunningham | Senior Advisor ICF International

"The appraisal of aircraft values is more complex today than ever before. The introduction of new aircraft types and an unparalleled level of supply and demand – particularly for single-aisle aircraft - add a new factor to an increasingly dynamic set of variables. These variables affect relative aircraft values in many different ways including trading liquidity, residual value risk and leasing structures"