Boeing has spelled out the maintenance benefits that operators can expect from its 787 widebody, due to enter service with All Nippon Airways (ANA) next year.
Speaking at Aviation Week's MRO Europe show in London, Boeing's Justin Hale estimated that the 787 would bring a 60% reduction in flights lost to maintenance, compared with the 767.
Hale was the 787 programme's chief mechanic before he took up a position in the airframer's marketing department five months ago. He predicts that the 787 will require 55-65% fewer scheduled maintenance labour hours than the 767, and that its maintenance costs will be 30-40% lower.
Various aspects of the 787's design have implications for maintenance, including its deployment of fibre-optic data networks, advanced systems monitoring, carbon-fibre structures, LED lighting and a more electric architecture.
Some of these characteristics create new challenges for support personnel: for example, measures must be taken to ensure that dust does not contaminate any fibre-optics exposed during line-replaceable unit (LRU) switches, and it is necessary to conduct pH tests of fluid used in liquid equipment cooling systems. However, performance/cost trade studies deem the new measures "a win", according to Hale.
He terms the 787 "a revolution in maintenance".
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
