Manufacturer plans customer services revamp across all product lines to exploit advances designed for A380
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| Airbus aims to become single point of contact for airlines seeking spares |
Airbus is rolling out a raft of customer support innovations across its in-service types to enable operators to benefit from advances being introduced for the A380.
The revamp comes as the manufacturer battles to satisfy airline demands for lower support costs and its customer base undergoes rapid expansion and types such as the A320 gain popularity in the second-hand market.
Airbus Customer Services executive vice-president Patrick Gavin says the “terrible” cost pressures on airlines due to the high oil price have led the company to freeze parts prices for the third year running. “We clearly have to make a big effort to reduce our own cost of manufacturing the parts,” he says.
To reduce support costs Airbus is introducing:
■ Longer intervals between scheduled maintenance checks for the A330/A340 family, lowering direct maintenance costs by “up to 20%”, equivalent to $1 million per year for a fleet of 10 A340s;
■ “AirPl@n” modular maintenance planning to reduce downtime, to be available for all Airbus types by the end of this year;
■ “Approved technical adaptations” for aircraft modifications eliminating the need for operators to seek approval from local airworthiness authorities;
■ “Forum for airline issues resolution”, or “FAIR”, to enable airlines to share operational experience and Airbus to develop technical fixes more quickly;
■ A new concept for implementing service bulletins to reduce airlines’ engineering workload “by 50%”;
■ Structural damage reporting, developed for the A380, using a two-camera, PC-based device to evaluate damage, reduce ground time and boost residual value by tracking repairs.
Meanwhile, Airbus is working on plans to simplify spares support by acting as a single point of contact for airlines currently sourcing parts via a network of distributors. “We are in the study phase, but we are planning to roll out this activity during the second half of 2006,” says Airbus Customer Services vice president operations, spares support and services, Peter Buchfeld, who adds that this could become part of the standard Airbus support package.
A major challenge on the horizon is the planned service entry of the double-deck A380 by the end of this year with Singapore Airlines. Buchfeld says “large, heavy and hard to ship” parts including flaps, slats, radomes and other structural items will be transported to “remote stations” such as Los Angeles and Sydney to facilitate rapid repairs in the event of a mishap.
The expanding in-service Airbus fleet means Customer Services expects to grow its workforce from 3,500 people today to more than 5,000 by 2013. “The aircraft deliveries are not the driver for us – the drivers are the number of operators and the introduction of new models,” says Gavin.
ANDREW DOYLE / TOULOUSE
Source: Flight International
