Honeywell's Maintenance Services To Save Costs For Airlines

By Massita Ahmad SINGAPORE, July 20 (Bernama) -- US-based Honeywell Aerospace is looking to help airlines cut back on operational and maintenance costs without compromising safety or passenger experience via its GoDirect Maintenance Services Programme. Honeywell said competition had stiffened in the airline industry, especially with the Asia Pacific set to drive passenger growth over the next two decades, as cited in the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast. "Filling up seats is simply not enough for airlines to stay ahead and improve their bottom line," Vice President, Airlines, Asia Pacific, Honeywell Aerospace, Brian Davis told Bernama. Honeywell recently completed the airline industry’s first-ever trial with Cathay Pacific to demonstrate how advanced data analytics and applications can improve operational availability, and more importantly save costs, for its A330 fleet. He said the successful trial and data analysis showed a 35 per cent reduction in operational disruptions with a false positive rate of less than one per cent. “This will save several hundred thousands of dollars in operations and maintenance costs for a single aircraft system. “Cathay Pacific, through the pilot programme, was able to improve its first-time fix rate, as well as reduce the man hours of the technical services team and frontline support,” he added. With GoDirect Maintenance Services, Honeywell will be able to highlight the most critical faults to repair and share that data with the airlines operations and maintenance centres. “This allows operations and ground crews to prepare for any potential maintenance or part replacement before the failure occurs, thereby, reducing operational disruptions and costs, while improving first-time fix rates,” said Davis. Following the test programme’s success, Cathay Pacific and Honeywell will explore launching the it across the airline’s fleet of A330s and B777s to improve on-time departures, ensure a comfortable cabin environment and reduce operating costs. Davis said Honeywell’s programme was suitable for all airlines globally. “We are able to provide custom data-driven solutions to different airlines based on specific challenges they face. “The high level of air pollution is a problem unique to airlines in China. Honeywell can proactively inform an airline to conduct preventive maintenance before the environmental control system (ECS) becomes clogged. “Similarly, ASEAN-based airlines will have different needs that Honeywell can help analyse and provide the right solutions for,” he added. According to Davis, airlines don’t need to scramble to troubleshoot mechanical issues that take up time and get the required data to be more efficient, while flights stay on schedule and passengers happy. Based on the trial with Cathay Pacific, Honeywell is seeking to specifically address and provide custom-made solutions, as every airline presents a different set of challenges and requirements. “If new customers used Honeywell’s GoDirect Connected Maintenance Programme, the results will differ depending on the mechanical components involved, but still benefit from immediate positive results,” said Davis. -- BERNAMA