Dutch carrier Martinair estimates that it has saved up to $2.2 million in fuel costs over the past year after conducting a year-long test of on-stand engine washing for its aircraft fleet.
Martinair has been co-operating on the project with Pratt & Whitney and Amsterdam Schiphol-based Stella Aviation Technics, which claims to be the first independent maintenance company to offer an ecological package of services aimed at reducing environmental damage.
 |
|---|
© David Kaminski-MorrowStella managing director Coen Smit sees the engine wash as a way for the company to move into more specialised operations |
The engine wash involves connecting a nozzle array to the nacelle which directs high-pressure water from a portable trailer through the fan, washing off internal contaminants which reduce the compressor’s efficiency. An effluent collector behind the engine collects and filters the run-off, which is returned to the tanks for recycling.
Martinair believes that the project, initiated in May last year, has decreased fuel burn on its fleet by 2,400-3,300t and generated the additional benefit of cutting carbon dioxide emissions. This equates to a cost saving of $1.6-2.2 million.
 |
|---|
© David Kaminski-Morrow/ATIThe engine wash involves connecting a nozzle array to the nacelle which directs high-pressure water from a portable trailer through the fan, washing off internal contaminants |
“If an A-check doesn’t run on time, the first thing you end up cancelling is the engine wash,” said Martinair vice-president for maintenance and engineering Paul Horstink, speaking to ATI, flightglobal.com's sister premium news source, during a demonstration of the system at Schiphol.
Typically the wash programme comprises three cycles, each lasting around 90s, and the whole operation – from set-up to dismantling – can be performed in 60-90min. Martinair operates a range of aircraft and Horstink says the system can handle its entire fleet, including the fin-mounted engines on its Boeing MD-11s.
Stella Aviation Technics is an equal partner in the strategic alliance European Maintenance Solutions, formed a year ago, which includes European Aviation and Louro Aircraft Services and which concentrates on a network of some 35 line-maintenance stations.
The company is intending to consolidate a range of fuel-reduction maintenance activities into an ecological package. Martinair will participate in a pilot programme to refine this package, after which it will be put in place across the network.
“We’ll definitely roll this out on our stations,” says Stella managing director Coen Smit. “It’s a different way of doing aircraft maintenance – it’s not just safety but also fuel savings. We believe this is the upcoming market in maintenance.”
He sees the engine wash as a way for the company to move into more specialised operations, adding that diverse services are a “necessity” in the cyclic aircraft maintenance business.
Smit says the pilot programme will begin in a month or two and the initial phase will include the company’s Paris, Madrid and probably its Frankfurt stations. “Quite a few airlines are interested,” he says.
“Martinair took the risk to be the first European airline to start seriously reducing emissions. Initiatives like this should be rewarded. Investing in these kinds of washes and actions means investing in a lower fuel consumption and a cleaner environment.
“Our ambition is, together with Martinair, to build up this ecological package to a stage that, at yearly or half-yearly intervals, aircraft will undergo a series of maintenance actions resulting in the aircraft operating maintenance-wise in the most efficient way.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
