Page 26 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2016 Online Magazine

FEATuRE ENGINE MAINTENANCE

Deep Insight

Engine maintenance cost prediction can accrue real benefits for airlines
By Atul Chandra

exact science. It is very difficult for an airline
to predict engine maintenance costs year by
year, says Saito. Operational events such as
in-flight engine shutdown and unscheduled
engine removals lead to unpredictable
engine maintenance costs. From a financial
aspect it is very important for an airline to
see which engine model will be removed
every month and predict the cost. To help
in this prediction JAL, looks at aspects
like bird strike occurrence, Exhaust Gas
Temperature (EGT) margin, oil consumption
etc. Interestingly, Saito also said that JAL
has maintenance staff called ‘Blademen’,
whose task is to inspect the engine blades
and vanes every day and note the condition.
They then review the data and upload it
onto a central system, where maintenance
staff can access the data. This provides an
additional data point on the condition of the
engine.
Saito says that the quality of an airline’s
engineering and technical capability also
plays a vital role in reducing unpredictable
engine maintenance costs. It is possible to
predict engine maintenance costs to a high
accuracy, using information available such
as extent of engine/module disassembly,
configuration of internal engine parts, Part
Scrap Rate (especially high pressure turbine
aerofoils) and the outside repair parts
required. For outside part repair costs, strict
control on Turn-Around-Time (TAT) and the
ThE LARGEST PART OF AN AIRLINE’S maintenance activities. Saito said that based On Time Delivery Rate (OTD) is required, as
maintenance budget is consumed by aero- on earlier experience with the GE90, JAL this also impacts the engine status. JAL is
engine maintenance costs. At the Aviation expects GEnx-1B engine maintenance work aiming for an OTD rate of 97% for outside
Week MRO Asia-Pacific conference to cost the airline $10 million. The GE90 repair parts. Prior to 2015, this was at 65%
2015, Tohru Saito, Vice President Engine engines power JAL’s Boeing 777-200 and and as of April 2015 stood at 80%.
Management, Japan Airlines (JAL), provided -300ERs.
an insight into how the airline went about Over the next four to five years, JAL is
predicting engine maintenance costs. JAL looking at significant expenses on its GEnx-
has a fleet of approximately 170 aircraft 1B maintenance costs, as the engines are Tohru Saito, Vice President
and 500 engines. Engine removals amount now out of their warranty period. Hence, Engine Management, Japan
to an estimated 60-70 every year. JAL it is looking at various options to reduce Airlines (JAL), says an airline’s
started taking delivery of its Boeing 787- engine maintenance costs over the next 5-10 in-house engineering and technical
capability plays a vital role in
8 Dreamliners in 2013 and its first GEnx- years. Predicting when an engine needs to be reducing unpredictable engine
1B engines are now due for removal for removed in exact terms remains far from an maintenance costs
26 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA