UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) is gearing up to support the Boeing 787-10's entry into service with Singapore Airlines in the second half of the year.
Speaking to FlightGlobal, Vice-president and general manager customer service of UTAS’s commercial aviation business, James Patrick says this include getting the right parts and resources into the region, and also deploying staff that have been involved in the certification programme to support the airline.
Patrick points out that UTAS and SIA have been long-term partners who "challenge each other" to provide cost-effective and reliable services, and that the relationship continues to evolve and grow.
In particular, SIA was an early adopter of UTAS’s turnkey, power-by-the-hour agreements for component servicing in 2007. That has led the way for other carriers, which benefit from having certainty on servicing costs.
“In this region they are one of the first airlines to lead in that,” says Patrick, adding that Asia-Pacific is now “the most progressive" in terms of turnkey support.
While UTAS has long been a supplier to the airline, it also operates joint ventures with SIA Engineering covering aerostructures, engine controls, electrical and fuel components.
“We’re looking at how we expand these JV’s,” says Patrick.
One area where the two companies are collaborating closely on is digital maintenance. That has seen it focus on how to process the slew of data that come off the newest aircraft to provide useful information to airline customers.
“We’ve seen really good results from that. On the 787 we’ve seen a reduction in unscheduled removals,” says Patrick.
On older types, such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A320, UTAS is also still seeing significant reductions in unscheduled parts removals.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
