WWW.MROMANAGEMENT.

COM
PW100
family
No end to turboprops
Line maintenance
Ramping up
Boeing 737NG
Heading for growth
Composite repairs
Surprises in store?
MARCH 2012
|
VOLUME 14 ISSUE 1
www.mromanagement.com March 2012 30 MRO Management
Line maintenance
Ramping up
Line maintenance seems to have been a growth sector of the MRO market
in the last year. Ian Harbison asked a number of specialists for their view of
why the situation has changed
E
ven ln dlmcult economlc tlmes, or
perhaps because of them, alrllnes
have clearly been calllng on more
outslde help to look after thelr alrcraft durlng
operatlons. we asked for expert advlce from
Poger Meels, Technlcal Dlrector, Dlrect
Malntenance, Altfrled Nessel, Chlef
Commerclal Omcer, Lufthansa Technlk
Malntenance |nternatlonal, |an 8artholomew,
Sales & Marketlng Dlrector of Monarch Alrcraft
Lnglneerlng, and Patrlck Morcus, Managlng
Dlrector, Nayak Alrcraft Servlce Netherlands.
There seems to have been a signicant
increase in the number of third-party line
maintenance contracts being awarded.
What are the reasons behind this?
RM: well, from the statlstlcs released by both
Alrbus and 8oelng we can see that the
commerclal avlatlon sector of western bulld
alrcraft ls set to double ln the next 20 years.
|rrespectlve of what the OLMs wlll say, all
these alrcraft wlll requlre llne malntenance
(as well as base malntenance, englnes and
components). | do not belleve thls ls
connected to the crlsls. es, of course, alrllnes
are 'extra' cost consclous ln tlmes of crlsls, but
| do not see many alrllnes pulllng back from
thelr strategy and pulllng back from llne
malntenance ln favour of outsourclng.
we have seen an lncrease ln our buslness
slnce 2008/9, as alrllnes are more focussed on
suppllers that can oner real value for money.
Dlrect Malntenance, belng a smaller and
lndependent provlder, was a loglcal cholce ln
such cases and we have managed to capltallse
on that to see double-dlglt growth for the
past years, whlle others are struggllng.
AN: |ncreaslng cost pressure. |t ls often not
cost enectlve for an alrllne to perform llne
malntenance on outstatlons [ust for thelr
own alrcraft. At many hubs there are
speclallsed MPO companles llke LTM| ln
Prankfurt, whlch can oner lower costs due to
synergles from servlng many other
customers but also, on outstatlons, there ls
an lncreaslng number of MPOs speclallslng
ln llne malntenance. |n addltlon, there ls also
an lncreaslng trend of alrllnes outsourclng
the complete MPO buslness, lncludlng llne
malntenance, at thelr homebase. To answer
the trend, not only OLMs oner servlces llke
GoldCare (8oelng) or PHS (Alrbus), but also
MPOs llke LTM| wlth Total Technlcal Support
lncludlng Technlcal Operatlons Management
(TOM). Thls ls a one-stop-shop total care
package, whlch LTM| oners for nearly all
MRO Management 31
March 2012 www.mromanagement.com
Line maintenance
Alrbus and 8oelng models, lncludlng the
newest one, the 787.
PM: Although we see that alrllnes generally
alm to outsource as many tasks as posslble,
they seem to have been less able to outsource
the deslred amount of work due to opposltlon
from unlons on the reductlon of technlcal
stan, as well as polltlcal pressure on securlng
[obs. As the economlc crlsls endures, they are
now more equlpped wlth an addltlonal set of
arguments to outsource actlvltles.
The lncrease ln thlrd-party llne malntenance
contracts spreads across nag carrlers as well as
cargo alrllnes and low-cost carrlers. The reasons
to outsource dlner from one alrllne and market
segment to the next, however, as a result of
dlnerent market dynamlcs. wlthln our
organlsatlon, we're notlclng lncreased demand
for outsourced llne malntenance prlmarlly from
nag carrlers and low-cost alrllnes. Cargo
operators are not outsourclng more or less
than before. Most have a buslness model ln
whlch they arrange thelr support through a
mlx of ln-house and thlrd-party malntenance.
Low-cost carrlers have not really changed thelr
malntenance tactlcs ln the past years. They
have always outsourced a large quantlty of llne
malntenance, wlth thelr lncreased neet slze
and number of destlnatlons, thelr demand for
outsourced llne malntenance also lncreased.
Do you expect this trend to continue?
RM: es | belleve alrllnes wlll be looklng more
and more at alternatlves, rather than dolng
everythlng by themselves per se. value for
money ls key, so ls cash.
AN: es. Alrllnes wlll tend to concentrate on
the core buslness. They have to be very
nexlble ln lncreaslng/decreaslng, openlng/
closlng destlnatlons and changlng alrcraft
from one AOC to another. Therefore, an
ln-house malntenance organlsatlon
compllcates the declslon process.
PM: The trends we ldentled have varylng
drlvers, lncludlng more nexlblllty agalnst lower
costs wlth lncreased performance wlth
measurable targets, change of own support
network, and tlghter regulatlons. These are
dependent on alrllne management, nanclal
and operatlonal performance. The nag carrlers
wlll contlnue to be reslstant to outsourclng llne
malntenance when alrllne management
leaves the declslon-maklng to the llne
malntenance or technlcal dlrector. They wlll
contlnue to keep thelr malntenance ln-house
as they percelve thls provldes them wlth
lncreased control. Costs are stlll not top prlorlty
ln the declslon-maklng process concernlng
llne malntenance. |f alrllne management ls
open for lnnovatlve solutlons, they wlll start to
outsource. My expectatlon ls that nag carrlers
wlll llmlt the outsourclng of llne malntenance
ln the comlng years. | expect low-cost carrlers
wlll contlnue outsourclng wlth strateglc
partners ln llne malntenance, and cargo wlll
contlnue lts current strategy.
Are there more contracts at hub airports
or at outstations?
RM: No, | do not belleve so. wlth the crlsls,
alrllnes have to become more nexlble and
Direct sees costs as a concern to many airlines, which
may lead to them opting not to make local arrangements
with a line maintenance provider at destinations, even
for widebody aircraft (photo: Direct Maintenance)
www.mromanagement.com March 2012 32 MRO Management
Line maintenance
search harder for new commerclal destlnatlons,
some of whlch they would not ny to before.
As a result, there are more polnt-to-polnt routes
at destlnatlons wlth llmlted suppller avallablllty,
or wlth lack of the rlght quallcatlons.
PM: when looklng at revenue nows, we can
see that there are more outsourclng contracts
at outstatlons, however the volumes of
contracts at hub alrports are larger.
What are the factors that aect this?
AN: Newer alrcraft types need less and less
routlne malntenance. Many short range
alrcraft already ny wlth a non-malntenance
concept on outslde statlons (no alrcraft
mechanlc avallable durlng translt), but alrllnes
want to ensure that there ls support ln case
somethlng goes wrong. Lven lf lt ls a blgger
problem, the x should be qulck. Therefore,
alrllnes look for support from organlsatlons
whlch have a certaln presence at the statlon/
hub and can help qulckly wlth know-how,
experlence, manpower and equlpment (GSL,
hangar, and so on).
PM: Carrlers have thelr own technlcal
department at hub alrports. Chooslng for
outsourclng would mean reorganlslng, lettlng
go of stan and so forth. A new trend ln llne
malntenance ls that the scope of work ls
enlarglng. New alrcraft types are organlsed ln
such a way that malntenance up to C check
level (lf present) ls spllt around the network.
Thls means that standard work ln llne
malntenance (dally, weekly) ls changlng over
to small work packages whlch can be
performed on the apron lnstead of golng lnto
the hangar. Today, few alrllnes can organlse
thls, but some alrllnes are now spreadlng llne
malntenance work around thelr network
step-by-step. Lnhanced loglstlcs, |T systems
and lncreased pre-planned malntenance wlll
further drlve thls development. The new
approach enhances ground tlme for
malntenance, lnstead of pulllng the alrcraft
out of servlce for a hangar lnput as lt ls today.
IB: Monarch Alrcraft Lnglneerlng ls
strateglcally focuslng on developlng lts llne
malntenance buslness to compllment the
enormous successes lt has made wlth lts
heavy malntenance dlvlslon. As a result of thls,
lnvestment has been made ln securlng new
contracts, whlch wlll contlnue across a
number of new locatlons and reglons.
New bases
What about the investment in equipment
and tooling to set up a new base?
RM: |n general terms, llne malntenance ls a
people orlented buslness, your stan make or
break a llne statlon, ln terms of (recurrlng)
costs as well as operatlonal performance. es,
there ls toollng and equlpment requlred, but
these are non-recurrlng costs ln most cases.
AN: Por slmple llne malntenance durlng
translt, lt ls not a blg lnvestment ln toollng.
wlth the tough requlrements by LASA, the
lnvestment ln tralnlng for a new alrcraft model
needs to be consldered, especlally when
alrllnes tend to qulckly adapt to market
demand by frequently changlng the type
nylng to a destlnatlon.
PM: |nvestments ln toollng and equlpment for
older generatlon alrcraft are relatlvely low,
especlally wlth regards to standard work.
However, new generatlon alrcraft requlre test
boxes, |T lnfrastructure and so forth, drlvlng
up lnvestment demands slgnlcantly.
Is there a critical mass of customers
required to make investment in an
outstation viable?
RM: es, one can calculate exactly what the
costs lnvolved ln settlng up a new base wlll be.
8ased on the antlclpated level of nylng, the
costs per nlght can be obtalned. As one
requlres a reasonable return on the
lnvestment, a charge per nlght to make a
statlon vlable can be establlshed from thls.
AN: |t depends on the slze of your onerlng.
|f you want to perform llne malntenance
up to A check and also need hangar space,
the crltlcal mass ls of course hlgher, to
dlstrlbute lnvestment and rent over more
sold manhours.
PM: Nayak's crltlcal mass to start an outstatlon
ls two alrllne customers brlnglng ln one
alrcraft per customer, per day, for scheduled
llne malntenance.
How much investment is needed to
introduce a new aircraft type?
RM: That ls relatlve to the number of stan one
wlshes to traln. Dlrect Malntenance now holds
39 alrcraft/englne comblnatlons on our Scope
of work, so we have a good plcture of thls. The
maln cost elements are the replacement
capaclty whlle your own stan ls away on
tralnlng, plus your tralnlng course and lssues
llke per dlems and hotels. Agaln, lf a cllent
wlshes to ny lnto your statlon once a week, lt
may take 20 years to have your costs
recovered. |t has to work for both partners and
careful plannlng ls requlred so that both
partles have a 'wln-wln' sltuatlon at the end of
the day. we are currently worklng hard (and
lnvestlng) to extend our scope wlth addltlonal
alrcraft types.
PM: Compared wlth toollng and equlpment,
the lnvestment ln tralnlng englneers
Line maintenance is one of ve key strategic business units at Monarch. Being part of a large travel group and
with an airline as a sister company, Monarch Aircraft Engineering reckons it has an edge as an MRO because it
understands the pressures airlines face (photo: Monarch Aircraft Engineering)
www.mromanagement.com March 2012 34 MRO Management
Line maintenance
ls the blggest when lntroduclng a new
alrcraft type on our Part-l45 approval.
we estlmate around -250,000 ($328,000) ln
tralnlng, courses and a slmulator, as well as
on-the-[ob tralnlng (O1T) and an lnvestment
for havlng englneers temporarlly
non-productlve.
Are new technology aircraft proving more
expensive to set up for?
RM: The polnt ls that tralnlng optlons are very
llmlted, often controlled by the OLM. |f
tralnlng ls avallable, the costs are hlgh due to
lack of an open market. OLMs should reallse
that havlng sumclent qualled stan around at
servlce provlders wlll benet all stakeholders.
PM: These are slgnlcantly more expenslve,
especlally when lt comes to tralnlng. Tralnlng
courses are only avallable vla the OLM or
OLM partners, and tralnlng fees are at least
twlce as expenslve compared to other alrcraft
type tralnlng.
Are new technology aircraft proving easier
to handle?
RM: That stlll remalns to be seen. New
technology alrcraft wlll come wlth lnltlal
chlldhood dlseases that nobody thought of
durlng the deslgn phase. ou need
commltment from the OLM to ensure that
qulck and quallty responses are glven to any
lnltlal ln-servlce lssues as soon as they arrlve.
PM: New technology alrcraft are easler to
handle for scheduled malntenance tasks.
However, when alrcraft are havlng
unscheduled malntenance, defect rectlcatlon
can be more dlmcult to assess. |T systems ln
the alrcraft provlde recommendatlons and
guldance, but they sometlmes requlre
technlclans to follow a lengthy sequence of
steps, whlch can take more tlme. wlth older
technology alrcraft, our englneers'own
expertlse often plays a posltlve role ln
shortenlng the rectlcatlon process.
IB: we look at each new opportunlty on lts
own merlts. we have to conslder the cost of
settlng up and runnlng a statlon of course, but
we also take lnto conslderatlon other
opportunltles that partnerlng wlth a new
operator may throw up and thls lnvestment
appralsal ls relevant for both old and new
technology alrcraft.
Seasonality
Many contracts seem to be seasonal, how do
you redeploy people for the rest of the year?
RM: That may be the case for some typlcal
hollday charter destlnatlons, not as much for
the larger hubs. we have thls as well, wlth hlgh
peaks and deep valleys. These are the typlcal
wlndows to perform addltlonal type tralnlng
or for stan to take thelr annual leave.
AN: wlth a blg network you are able to cover
seasonal varlatlons ln between the statlons.
LTM| also has a team of employees, who are
generally based ln Prankfurt, but wlll be used for
short-term asslgnments on statlons to cover
peaks or on-days. ou also have to conslder the
demand for tralnlng, whlch should, of course,
be planned ln the low season.
PM: Seasonal enects ln llne malntenance are
very llmlted. Only a small number of carrlers are
maklng changes and generally only the lelsure
alrllnes. Changes are generally announced a
couple of months ln advance. Thls allows us to
prepare. To remaln nexlble wlthln Nayak, we
expect our stan to travel and provlde support
where customers need them. we always have a
statlon that's growlng and requlres addltlonal
stan from another one. One solutlon we have
embraced ls to work wlth local on-call
employment contracts wlth local stan at an
alrport durlng peak moments. The extent to
whlch Nayak group relles on contractors ls
llmlted. we prefer to work wlth our own
employees to ensure a sustalnable, long-term
servlce to alrllne customers and ensure that our
level of servlce ls malntalned to our standards.
Can you use temporary labour?
RM: es you can, provlded the temporary
labour remalns below 50% of your total head
count at any locatlon.
Nayak is noticing increased demand for outsourced line maintenance primarily from ag carriers and low-cost
airlines (photo: Nayak Aircraft Service Netherlands)
The BT Series of Battery-Hydraulic Hand Tool Kits is designed to provide
the ultimate in exibility, modularity, and powered efciency in a lightweight,
ergonomic crimp unit, making it ideal for maintenance, repair and overhaul in
the Aerospace Industry, plus its powered by a superior Lithium-ion Battery.
The BT Series exibility begins with the availability of 2 different power units
(BT 1900 and BT 3500), 9 different heads and adapters, and various user
options. The kit comes with a shoulder strap that can be used on the kits case
or directly on either power unit.
Call your TE Connectivity sales professional at 888-777-5917 or 1-717-810-2080
for a demonstration of TEs Battery-Hydraulic Hand Tool and see how your
maintenance and repair process can improve with its use.
Learn more at tooling.te.com/bt3500.asp
EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS
MORE THAN 1.5 TONS OF POWER
IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
TE Connectivitys only obligations are those stated in TEs General Terms and Conditions of Business (http://www.te.com/aboutus/tandc.asp) TE expressly disclaims any implied warranty
regarding the information contained herein, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or tness for a particular purpose.

2012 All rights reserved. TE Connectivity (logo), TE Connectivity and EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS are trademarks.
MRO_AD 4.indd 1 1/20/12 2:01 PM
TE_placed.indd 1 23/01/2012 10:08
MRO Management 35
March 2012 www.mromanagement.com
Line maintenance
AN: On outstatlons wlth a small number
of people, lt ls dlm cult. Durlng blgger llne
malntenance events, llke an A check, lt
ls posslble and LTM| makes use of lt ln the
range of l0%.
PM: es we can.
Is there a risk to quality if you do?
RM: No, not for us. Prom a quallty assurance
polnt of vlew, we conslder a person that [olns
us on an equal basls, whether he ls permanent
or temporary stan. The englneer ln questlon
wlll have to meet the exact same prerequlsltes.
AN: No, there lsn't lf you follow LASA rules,
take speclal care whlch personnel you select
and ensure good compllance wlth your own
company procedures.
PM: The quallty of servlce ls dlrectly related to
the mlndset of stan. Thls ls a very dlstlnct
dlnerentlator for Nayak. we only employ
people who are eager to dellver prompt and
on-tlme servlces that guarantee l50%
satlsfactlon from alrllne customers. Dellverlng
on thls ambltlon requlres stan that can handle
the tlme pressure of llne malntenance, waltlng
passengers, rectlfylng defects and staylng
pollte to alrllne customers who contlnuously
challenge us to have the alrcraft ln operatlon
as qulckly as posslble. Our team has thls very
mentallty because lt ls somethlng we all
cultlvate, every day. Thls ls not always as easy
to achleve wlth temporary labour.
IB: Monarch Alrcraft Lnglneerlng has both
year-round and seasonal contracts at both lts
base and llne statlons, these glve us the
nexlblllty to move our stan around our network
to ensure we have the rlght people ln place to
support our partlcular contracts. we have a very
rellable and nexlble workforce so the transltlon
between statlons ls not an lssue. On very few
occaslons we do utlllse contract labour, whlch ls
managed for us through our contract labour
company, Monarch Technlcal Support. The key
advantage of dolng thls ls that we have detalled
knowledge of the stan and thelr capablllty.
Overseas operations
What are the advantages of operating
overseas line maintenance bases?
RM: ou bulld a stronger relatlonshlp wlth your
customer by followlng an alrllne lnto new areas.
PM: we only open up overseas llne
malntenance bases at the request
of our alrllne customers. Thls questlon
ls probably more sulted to those customers
as to why they would llke to do lt ln
thls way.
What are the challenges of operating
overseas line maintenance bases?
RM: There are many and we have come up
agalnst them. we were the rst company
to ever establlsh Part-l45 approved
thlrd-party llne statlons ln several locatlons,
lncludlng Trlpoll, 8enghazl, Mombasa
and Addls Ababa. The challenges are huge,
but so ls our perslstence.
PM: Por Nayak, an overseas statlon ls
not more dlm cult than any other statlon
away from our homebase. Travel tlme ls
perhaps longer, but all other challenges,
such as ndlng the rlght qualled
englneers lnterested ln golng there,
alrport access dlm cultles, worklng
permlts and settlng up local branches
remaln the same.
www.mromanagement.com March 2012 36 MRO Management
Line maintenance
Is there a need to keep European
management at non-European line stations?
RM: No. we are very proud to employ a great
team of stan, and we do not conslder the
natlonallty as a crlterlon. |n fact, we
encourage local hlres as much as posslble, to
create [obs and to lnvest ln tralnlng. | am very
pleased to meet very qualled and motlvated
stan ln prospectlve outstatlons who are keen
to [oln our team.
PM: when we open up a new statlon,
wherever lt ls, we always start wlth a xed
team of experlenced englneers comlng from
dlnerent statlons. They set up and lnltlally run
the operatlon and then, ln tlme, we look for
local englneers to replace them. |n thls way,
we ensure that our servlce to our alrllne
customers ls at the level we guarantee.
IB: we have a number of overseas llne
malntenance operatlons, both year-round
and seasonal. The benets for our slster
company Monarch Alrllnes are clear, they get
a quallty product from a team of lndlvlduals
who know thelr alrcraft and thelr operatlon,
and who genulnely care about the passenger
experlence. Thls ls then transferrable to other
contracted customers who we work for. The
overseas statlons are resourced by both UK
and local stan.
How does line maintenance t into a
companys business which is dominated by
base maintenance?
AN: |f you operate a base malntenance
unlt at the statlon, you usually have a
slgnlcant number of personnel, backshops,
sumclent equlpment, toollng and a hangar.
wlth thls set-up you are more nexlble to
react to AOGs or seasonal changes. So you
can oner the customers a full range of
servlces. 8ut the exchange between llne
and base should be a very controlled
actlon to ensure that both processes are
runnlng smoothly.
PM: 8ase malntenance and llne malntenance
need englneers wlth two totally dlnerent
mlndsets. 8ase malntenance can be planned
and tlme pressure can be mlnlmlsed. when
looklng at llne malntenance, tlme ls of the
essence and the pressure ls on almost all the
tlme. Therefore at Nayak, we have a spllt ln llne
malntenance and base malntenance.
Does it provide a training ground?
AN: Not necessarlly, because the focus on llne
and base ls dlnerent. Llne malntenance
concentrates on qulck turnarounds, also
by uslng the MLL and temporary solutlons.
8ase malntenance concentrates on an lntense
check and on long-lastlng xes. 8ut, of course,
lt helps when you have seen the alrcraft
strlpped lnslde when you tackle a problem ln
llne malntenance, for example, on alr
condltlonlng or the water waste system. ou
can, for lnstance, more easlly locate
components llke ducts and you may be
qulcker ln removal/lnstallatlon.
PM: ou could provlde O1T for your llne
malntenance englneers ln the base
malntenance, but dolng so ls gettlng more
dlmcult. The varlety of alrcraft types ln llne
malntenance ls normally slgnlcantly larger
compared to base malntenance capabllltles.
Therefore, wlthln Nayak we lncreaslngly
choose to rely on other provlders when lt
comes to O1T tralnlng.
Is it a marketing tool to attract customers
for additional work?
AN: See the questlon about base
malntenance. The avallablllty of addltlonal
manpower, toollng and a hangar can be an
argument to attract customers.
PM: Not really. The outsourclng of
base malntenance ls generally arranged
by the purchaslng department of an alrllne.
The llne malntenance department ls
generally not lnvolved. Peferrlng back to
our earller statement regardlng the scope
of work changlng, there ls less need for
base malntenance capabllltles and a
related hangar, as more work ls done ln
llne malntenance.
RM: Llne malntenance ls a speclallst area,
| can see the larger MPO able to oner a total
care package, lncludlng llne, base,
components and even MCC. |n that case,
havlng your own base malntenance set-up,
next to your llne malntenance lnfrastructure
ls lmportant. Havlng your own base
malntenance set-up wlll allow for
opportunltles to perform ab-lnltlo baslc
tralnlng, as well as the practlcal elements of
type tralnlng, for stan one wlshes to use ln a
llne envlronment later on. we would prefer to
traln our stan ln a real-tlme llne malntenance
envlronment. |t certalnly can be a marketlng
tool, lf you alm to oner a total care package.
The fact ls that we do not use a hangar and
thls ls a marketlng tool for us. Our stan wlll do
whatever lt takes to avold the alrcraft havlng
to go lnto a hangar, provlded, of course, thls ls
safe. we have had slgnlcant [obs done
outslde when there was no hangar avallable,
llke englne changes, GL90 nose cowl
replacement or maln landlng gear seal
replacements. we are fortunate wlth our
dedlcated team who go that extra mlle for
our loyal customers.
IB: Llne malntenance ls one of our ve key
strateglc buslness unlts. 8elng part of a large
travel group, and wlth an alrllne as a slster
company, glves us an edge as an MPO
because we understand the pressures alrllnes
face. The cost of a late dellvery from a hangar
lnput, or of a technlcal delay whlle the
alrcraft ls ln operatlon, ls hlgh. Por us thls
underllnes the value of provldlng the
operator wlth a rellable product, from the
To cover seasonal variations in between the stations,
LTMI has a team of Frankfurt-based employees, who
are used for short-term assignments on stations to
cover peaks or off-days (photo: Lufthansa Technik)
HARCO_placed.indd 1 01/02/2012 09:10
MRO Management 37
March 2012 www.mromanagement.com
Line maintenance
quallty of the work carrled out to the
support of the alrcraft whlle ln operatlon.
|t also provldes opportunltles for hangar
malntenance stan to galn valuable
operatlonal experlence, and vlce versa, and
does enable us to attract new customers
to our other servlce onerlngs.
Can line maintenance be a vehicle to
introduce other services such as cleaning
or engine washing?
RM: es lt can be. Llne malntenance has lts
peaks and addltlonal servlces can streamllne
your productlon plannlng and make better
use of your stan.
AN: es, lt can, especlally when the customer
ls looklng for an lntegrated solutlon. Llne
malntenance ls key to that. Thls ls where the
battle for good alrcraft rellablllty ls nally
won. Preventlve malntenance, good
troubleshootlng, good plannlng and qulck
reactlon ln llne malntenance are lmportant
factors to ensure that all elements of a full
support package work together to achleve
hlgh alrcraft avallablllty for the alrllne.
PM: Nayak ls onerlng the Pratt & whltney
LcoPower englne wash. Untll now, we have
had llmlted success wlth addltlonal servlces,
as alrllne organlsatlons are controlllng varlous
actlvltles through dlnerent departments and
lt ls a challenge to channel these and get
thlngs done ln one place. Our servlces are
malnly almed at facllltatlng the em clency of
our customers' buslness. Conslderlng thls,
lnslghts ln loglstlcs and malntenance are the
most lmportant factors.
IB: es, we are always looklng to lncrease our
servlce onerlng, and we are now branchlng
out lnto areas such as englne washlng and
lnterlor malntenance. 8elng able to provlde
the whole package makes us look llke a more
attractlve proposltlon to the customer.
Are there any other points you would like
to raise?
RM: Costs are a concern to many alrllnes, more
than ever before. | can see alrllnes movlng to the
concept of havlng no local arrangements
wlth a llne malntenance provlder at
destlnatlons, even for wldebody alrcraft. |n
fact we are talklng 'peanuts' looklng at the
costs of a llne malntenance arrangement
agalnst the value of an alrframe, or the costs an
alrllne wlll be faced wlth due to the passenger
compensatlon rules. An AOG of any
slgnlcance would have pald for a llne
malntenance contract for the next few years.
|n order to ensure the operatlons of an alrllne
go smoothly and a qulck lnterceptlon of
unscheduled tasks takes place, | encourage
our customers not to choose such a concept.
we would not be able to do the level of
lnvestment we do today lf our alrllnes would
only call upon us when there ls an lmmedlate
need for help.
PM: Nayak has been ln the alrcraft malntenance
buslness for 30 years. Over tlme, we have always
dlnerentlated our servlces through our ablllty
to respond to our customers' needs wlthln the
ever-changlng dynamlcs of the market. Our
goal ls to glve them more nexlblllty, hlgher
technlcal punctuallty, lncreased neet
avallablllty, hlgher passenger comfort, fewer
penaltles for delays and more control over
costs. Nayak currently partners wlth the
Unlverslty of Amsterdam (UvA) to develop
a key performance lndlcator that wlll analyse
the processes and artlculate the benets.