A version of this article appears in the September 8 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology. The current ratings system for U.S.-approved repair stations, introduced in 1962 and in FAA’s crosshairs since the late 1980s, has received yet another lifeline.
T he aircraft parts aftermarket continues to transform itself as pure parts distributors feel increased pressure from the new asset-management model and some traders broaden their offers.
The FAA, acknowledging that flight crews need to be better prepared to combat flight deck fires, has drafted a policy that is meant to amplify and augment existing rules and guidance, but stops short of modifying its regulations.
Europe has enacted regulations that should make its decade-old centralized safety database more valuable to both regulators and state aviation agencies by expanding the amount of incident information available to its users. The regulation, adopted in April and taking effect late next year, opens up access to records in the European Central Repository (ECR) to safety agencies and investigators throughout Europe.
Everyone tries to get the right product at the right price. Procurement experts say it’s more important to get strategic about purchasing and inventory management. Most procurement and inventory management departments, including those at MRO providers and airlines, traditionally have focused on assuring that parts and supplies are available when they’re needed, where they’re needed and at the lowest possible price.
Everyone tries to get the right product at the right price. Procurement experts say it’s more important to get strategic about purchasing and inventory management. Most procurement and inventory management departments, including those at MRO providers and airlines, traditionally have focused on assuring that parts and supplies are available when they’re needed, where they’re needed and at the lowest possible price.
Europe Almost Perfect Three years into the bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA) between the U.S. and the European Union (EU), few would dispute the pact’s benefits. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the FAA rely on each other’s judgment for certification and surveillance, and industry benefits from a more streamlined regulatory process. Still, reports Karl Specht, EASA’s continuing airworthiness organization manager, both industry and regulators see areas for improvement.
Washington Proactive Push The FAA’s transition to a sustainable, risk-based oversight system requires aligning many key elements. None is more important than comprehensive datasets to help the agency prioritize how it allocates resources.
A South American carrier and long-time CF6-80C2 operator approached General Electric (GE) recently with a request: help maximize the operating life of some engines with more than 20 years in service and optimize remaining life-cycle, rather than up-front, costs. GE and the airline created workscopes that factored in both service life, to maximize on-wing time, and operations metrics such as fuel burn, to boost efficiency.
Consultants have long recommended consolidation in the aerospace supply chain, especially in the aftermarket. By acquiring Goodrich Corp. in July 2012, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) moved in the recommended direction. But acquisition by itself is just a rearrangement of numbers on a ledger. Reaping the potential efficiency gains requires hard work to integrate newly acquired assets effectively.
Another kind of investment relates to but is not the same as investment in new-model support. LHT recently announced it will put €200 million ($276 million) into innovation and research over the next four years. The commitment should improve LHT’s overall capabilities on both legacy aircraft that show up in shops more frequently than new models and on new types that pose novel challenges.
Partnerships bring opportunities to invest, but how do you start the conversation with potential candidates? What are best practices? One of the workshops during our MRO Americas Conference last month focused on partnerships, so I will share some of the executives’ insights. They are natural supplements to Henry Canaday’s article on page MRO4, which evaluates how and when MROs invest in new capabilities.
