Cathay to give its jets inflight health checks
Cathay Pacific Airways has announced that it will license a state-of-the-art inflight aircraft-monitoring system from Boeing to track the condition of its 43 twin-aisle jets.
Boeing's Airplane Health Management (AHM) will give Cathay Pacific a real-time tracking tool to identify potential problems to help establish a timely maintenance programme. Cathay will use the system to track its fleet of existing and to-be-delivered 777s and 747-400s. It is designed to be integrated into existing maintenance and engineering systems. During a flight, AHM gathers data about faults and relays that information in real time to ground personnel. Maintenance crews can then be ready with the necessary parts and tools to make repairs as soon as the aircraft lands. The system can reduce the number and length of aircraft delays and convert many tasks from non-routine to scheduled maintenance. "Cathay Pacific is an airline-industry bellwether due to its reputation for smart management and informed decision-making," said Lou Mancini, vice president and general manager of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. "For Cathay Pacific, one of the key benefits of AHM is the ability to manage a large fleet of aircraft by the effective use of technology rather than manpower," said Rob Wales, manager of Cathay Pacific's maintenance support. "By using real-time fault-forwarding linked to Boeing and airline documentation and integrated into the airline's engineering and maintenance system, staff have a powerful knowledge base. This ultimately results in improved operational performance." AHM is a key technology in Boeing's effort to e-enable the air transport system. Central to the effort is the idea that data, information and knowledge are shared across an entire enterprise to allow airlines to make the best decisions to operate their fleets at the highest levels of safety, security and efficiency. The system is designed to integrate with other e-enabled products. In addition, AHM supports long-term fleet-reliability programmes by helping airline's identify recurring faults and trends. Data collected from one airline can be used to guide repair decisions, based on history and fleet experience at another airline operating the same aircraft type.
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