Washington Benefits Of Outsourcing A new report from the bipartisan analysts paid to educate Congress puts a pile of facts in the way of a pretty good story about the perils of airline maintenance outsourcing.
Line maintenance and ground support equipment appear to be two of the industry sectors with an outsourcing growth trend, from specialized tools to inflight entertainment systems (IFE). While line maintenance was once focused purely on safety, it now encompasses inflight entertainment, with special cabin teams tasked with ensuring airlines' marketing promises and customers' expectations are met.
The global civil aircraft fleet should increase 3.9% over the next 10 years to 32,500 aircraft, and the value of the aftermarket supporting that fleet likely will grow at a 3.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to $69 billion by 2022, according to an Aviation Week forecast. While the growth percentages look small and could indicate a constrained airline capacity increase for the next few years, while keeping maintenance costs in check, a look at the underlying numbers make this a much more dynamic story.
In September 1996, Embraer announced the arrival of its regional jet family in North America when Continental Express ordered 200 ERJ 145s. Even though only 25 of the commitments were firm, the message was clear: Embraer's 50-seat market entry was going to be a major player in the world's biggest aviation market. Recently, a few ERJ 145s were involved in a very different kind of transaction that delivered an equally emphatic, but different message.
No Fault Founds (NFFs) occur when parts appear faulty on an aircraft or in a line check, but test as fault-free in the shop. They are a frustrating waste of money and effort because although they appear to be benign, they still must be vetted. Reducing NFFs remains tough to accomplish. As old causes are discovered and resolved, new challenges arise, for example in increasingly complex avionics software.
An American Airlines-US Airways merger offers the combined carrier clear opportunities to leverage existing assets as part of a long-term MRO strategy that mixes in-house and outsourced work. Just how much work will stay in the new American's hangars is anyone's guess, however, particularly considering the apparent clash of philosophies.
Blowing sand in the Middle East and high levels of airborne particulate matter from industrial pollution in Asia are parts of the impetus behind a new generation of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) designed to better protect engine components and withstand corrosive elements. TBC corrosion is becoming a growing issue, specifically attributable to the build-up of calcium magnesium aluminosilicates (CMAS).
As more nacelles are made of composites, their repair market is becoming quite diverse. “Fleet transitions are adding complexity, failure modes vary as aircraft age, and operators are customizing work scopes to fit their needs,” says Meredith Siegfried, CEO of Nordam, a major nacelle OEM and repair specialist. Siegfried says most of today's nacelle work stems from mature aircraft, which generally employ comparable technologies and materials, so today's primary focus is on doing the work faster and cheaper.
Forty-three years after entering revenue service, the Pratt & Whitney JT9D series continues to power a cross section of operators sprinkled around the globe. While still diverse, the cross section is much thinner than in years past, however, with many operators flying just a handful of engines. It's a sign of the steady and inevitable decline facing the venerable series.
1. House of Hose Manufacturer: Air-Pro Specifications: Miami-based Air Pro's specialties include aircraft and engine hoses as well as interiors expendables. It offers customized hose kits for scheduled maintenance support and to store onboard for emergencies. Air-Pro is a distributor/manufacturer for Smiths Tubular Systems and Hydrasearch. www.air-pro.com Link 606 2. Just Expendables Manufacturer: Aircraft Inventory & Management Services
1. Air Data Test Set On Wheels Manufacturer: DAC International Applications: Reduced vertical separation minimum-compliant three- or four-channel air data test set with multiport isolation capabilities as designed to test static, pitot and angle-of-attack functions.
Washington Contractor Conundrum Everything old is new again, though sometimes going back to the future requires a mandate. The FAA is hard at work on a rule aimed at making contract maintenance easier to perform and oversee. At the draft rule's core are two requirements—that airlines keep lists of all their third-party maintenance providers, and that the providers follow instructions provided to them by the carrier—including everything that has been on the books for four-plus decades.
Wedged between customer demands for tighter turn times and competition from original equipment manufacturers, independent avionics and component shops are being squeezed to perform as never before.
