Will Monitor Unscheduled Maintenance On 747-400s
Boeing announced Monday that Qantas Airways' fleet of 747-400
airplanes will be monitored by Boeing's Airplane Health Management
(AHM), a software system that helps airlines improve the management
of unscheduled maintenance events.
In addition, Qantas will use Airplane Health Management for
future 787 Dreamliner deliveries, of which the airline has 65 on
order.
Qantas' 30 747-400s will use Airplane Health Management to
gather and evaluate critical in-flight data on the real-time flying
condition of its airplanes, information that can be used across the
enterprise to identify and address overall efficiency.
"This system will help improve our 747-400 maintenance
operations and greatly assist in meeting our customers'
expectations for punctuality and serviceability," said David Cox,
Qantas executive general manager, Engineering
Airplane Health Management gives airlines additional insight as
to the condition of airplanes in the sky, providing in-flight
access to fuel-burn information so airlines can identify and
correct problems that might be wasting fuel, as well as data that
allow preparation for the airline to minimize or eliminate delays
through advance preparation for maintenance procedures.
In some cases, Airplane Health Management allows engineers on
the ground to monitor the health of an aircraft while it is in the
air, which allows airlines to take action before a fault occurs,
leading to a more reliable, cost-effective operation. For example,
a fault identified by AHM and relayed to ground controllers
provides airlines the visibility to turn a potentially costly
on-ground maintenance delay into an easily addressable repair that
minimizes or eliminates scheduling problems for passengers.
"Qantas demonstrates a strong commitment for efficiency with the
decision to subscribe to AHM to monitor its 747-400 fleet," said
Dan da Silva, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Boeing
Commercial Aviation Services. "In addition, the use of AHM on its
747 fleet will increase Qantas' experience with the system, which
will also be used for the 787."
Qantas joins more than 20 operators from around the world that
have committed to Boeing's AHM. More than 44 percent of the world's
combined 777 and 747-400 fleet use the technology.
AHM also supports long-term fleet-reliability programs by
helping airlines identify and respond to faults before they occur.
The system provides fleet-wide information aggregated from other
operators, which can be used to determine, for example, the
effectiveness of particular maintenance actions in fixing problems.
The goal is to help airlines operate at the highest levels of
reliability and efficiency.
Airplane Health Management is a key component in Boeing's larger
vision of the e-Enabled airline, where information technology,
connectivity and strategic integration promise greater efficiency
and improved airline operations.
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