july 2007 flight airworthiness support technology - airbus€¦ · airbus, its logo, a300, a310,...

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SPARES, SUPPLIERS &WARRANTY SYMPOSIUMBANGKOK, THAILAND12-14 MARCH 2007For the fourth time the eventlinking spares, supplier andwarranty services together generated an excellent mix ofparticipants from customers (53 participants) and suppliers(48 participants) and providedan ideal platform to build onexisting relationships and fur-ther discuss regional specifici-ties and service strategies.Airbus started by presenting theCustomer Services portfolio ofmodular support and services‘Air+ by Airbus’ and underlined thecontinuing efforts to improve,based on market and customerfeedback from the CustomerSatisfaction Improvement Pro-gramme, and spoke about the‘FIRST’ programme, preparingthe next 10 years’ vision. ThenAirbus presented the latest newsconcerning spares, supplier andwarranty services.

15TH PERFORMANCE AND OPERATIONS CONFERENCEPUERTO-VALLARTA, MEXICO23-27 APRIL 2007The 15th Performance & Oper-ations Conference representingthe greatest forum for Airbus’Flight Operations Support &Services activities. Attended by181 participants from 73 airlines,it provided flight crews, opera-tions specialists and performanceengineers with a unique opportu-nity to constructively exchangeviews and information and to

facilitate communication. It inc-luded some 100 presentationsspread in 12 different sessionscovering the whole scope ofFlight Operations activities(Operations, Performance, e-doc,EFB, all aircraft types issues,economics, services…). The airline participants unani-mously mentioned it was a realsuccess: ‘This type of confer-ence is absolutely essential’.

A320 FAMILY SYMPOSIUMBANGKOK, THAILAND07-11 MAY 2007Customers supported Airbusaspirations expressed at thesymposium, consisting of con-solidating the high level ofoperational reliability, enhanc-ing Airbus support and servicesand maximizing their aircraftavailability.

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A300/A310 FAMILY TECHNICALSYMPOSIUMTOULOUSE, FRANCE05-09 NOVEMBER 2007 Airbus Technical Symposiumsare held for each Airbus pro-gramme every two years withthe target audience of airlineengineering and maintenancemanagers. The next A300/A310event will focus on current technical and maintenance sub-jects as well as general customersupport processes. There will bea particular focus on the assur-ance of long-term support of thefleet with consideration that the last production aircraft will have been delivered during thesummer of 2007.

TECHNICAL DATA SUPPORT AND SERVICES SYMPOSIUMTOULOUSE, FRANCE12-14 NOVEMBER 2007This fourth Technical DataSymposium will provide aunique opportunity for airlinetechnical data managers, main-tenance engineers and informa-tion technology specialists tolearn about the latest status ofour technical data products.Separate, but integrated productdemonstrations and sideshows,to complement the main ses-sions, will be available through-out to allow active participationand an exchange of views.Advance notification will bemade in the near future via ourcommunication channels andinvitations will be sent in thecoming months.

Customer Servicesevents

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Publisher: Bruno Piquet

Editor: Kenneth JohnsonAssisted by Agnès Massol-Lacombe

Graphic Designer: Agnès Massol-Lacombe

Authorization for reprint of FAST Magazine articles should be requested from the editor at the FAST Magazine e-mail address given below

Customer Services Communications Tel: +33 (0)5 61 93 43 88Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 47 73

e-mail: [email protected]: Escourbiac

FAST Magazine may be read on Internet http://www.content.airbusworld.com/SITES/Customer_services/index.html

under ‘Quick references’

ISSN 1293-5476

© AIRBUS S.A.S. 2007. AN EADS COMPANYAll rights reserved. Proprietary document

By taking delivery of this Magazine (hereafter “Magazine”), you accept on behalf ofyour company to comply with the following. No other property rights are granted by thedelivery of this Magazine than the right to read it, for the sole purpose of information.This Magazine, its content, illustrations and photos shall not be modified nor repro-duced without prior written consent of Airbus S.A.S. This Magazine and the materialsit contains shall not, in whole or in part, be sold, rented, or licensed to any third partysubject to payment or not. This Magazine may contain market-sensitive or other infor-mation that is correct at the time of going to press. This information involves a numberof factors which could change over time, affecting the true public representation.Airbus assumes no obligation to update any information contained in this document orwith respect to the information described herein. The statements made herein do notconstitute an offer or form part of any contract. They are based on Airbus informationand are expressed in good faith but no warranty or representation is given as to theiraccuracy. When additional information is required, Airbus S.A.S can be contacted toprovide further details. Airbus S.A.S shall assume no liability for any damage in con-nection with the use of this Magazine and the materials it contains, even if Airbus S.A.Shas been advised of the likelihood of such damages. This licence is governed by Frenchlaw and exclusive jurisdiction is given to the courts and tribunals of Toulouse (France)without prejudice to the right of Airbus to bring proceedings for infringement of copy-right or any other intellectual property right in any other court of competent jurisdiction.

Airbus, its logo, A300, A310, A318, A319, A320, A321, A330,A340, A350, A380 and A400M are registered trademarks.

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This issue of FAST Magazine has been printed on paper produced without using chlorine, to reducewaste and help conserve natural resources.Every little helps!

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Going greenWorking towards environmentally friendly materials and processesThomas McVeigh

A318 steep approach capabilityMainline jet comfort and efficiencyinto restricted airportsLaurence BernadacDaniel Carnelly

The Future Air Navigation SystemFANS B Air traffic communications enhancement for the A320 FamilySophie de Cuendias

Initial experience from the FAIR-ISP on-line forumIncreasing airlines and Airbus collaboration on in-service fleet issuesDenis Tissié

The first and the last of the A300/A310 Family

Customer ServicesAround the clock... Around the world

Photo copyright Airbus Photo credits:

Airbus Photographic Library, exm company, H. Goussé, (cover), S. Ognier, Airbus France

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GOING GREEN - WORKING TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

In 2003, Airbus set up an innova-tive Environmental ManagementSystem (EMS) as a key enabler tohelp continuously improve theenvironmental performance ofAirbus products and services.

In January 2007, Airbus becamethe first aerospace company toreceive a corporate certification toISO14001 environmental standardsfrom an independent auditor (thehighly respected Det NorskeVeritas), covering all the company’sproduction sites and productsthroughout their lifecycle. This cor-porate certification demonstratesthe efficiency of Airbus EMS andintegrated Life Cycle approach.

What is thisintegrated LifeCycle approach allabout?

Airbus uses this innovativeapproach to map, assess, prioritiseand track all the environmentaleffects an aircraft and the relatedproduction processes have, or mayhave, at each stage of life; fromdesign to end-of-life, in a continu-ous improvement process. Amongthe significant environmental issuesidentified throughout the aircraftlife cycle, are the impact of chemi-cals and manufacturing processes.Therefore, specific focus is givenin the Life Cycle approach toresearch programmes that will leadto reduction of the environmentalimpact of manufacturing, and similarly, to anticipate chemicalregulations such as REACH (seeinformation). Airbus has adopted apolicy of replacing hazardousmaterials and processes used forengineering and manufacturing,wherever feasible, and joining inefforts by other industry partners.

However, suitable replacementoptions are not always readily avail-able. In such a case, Airbus sets tar-gets and milestones to developalternatives that bring the same

benefits and level of safety andquality in a more pro-environmentalmanner.

Airbus initiativesUnderstanding that eventually cer-tain hazardous materials wouldhave to be removed from industry,Airbus decided to anticipate thechanges and launched a number ofinitiatives.

LOW VOLATILE ORGANICCOMPOUNDS (VOC) SURFACECOATINGS

Over the last decade, Airbus hasintensified its efforts to replacehigh VOC surface coatings (exter-nal paints, primers, etc.) by lowVOC alternatives. This subject is tobe expanded upon in a later FASTarticle, “Maintenance of aircraftpaint systems, ten years on”.

LOW VOC CONTAINING CLEANINGAGENTS AND PROCESSES

Traditional methods and processesfor general cleaning have histori-cally employed high VOC efficientsolvents. However, these solvents,although capable of performingmultiple cleaning applications,

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GOING GREEN - WORKING TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIALS AND PROCESSESFA

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Thomas McVeighSenior Engineer

Materials and TechnologiesAirbus Customer Services

Going greenWorking towards environmentallyfriendly materials and processes

Today, global awareness of environmental issues is a fact and the number of regulations is increasing.Many processes and chemicals used have to be revisited. Traditional engineering and manufacturingpractices are evolving to meet these needs and ‘going green’ is becoming a way of thinking that isaffecting all industries worldwide.

In the aviation industry the commitment of Airbus to environmental efficiency has long been centralto activities and a key driver when it comes to new products, techniques and processes. It can be saidthat the environmental impact of building and flying aircraft is a core preoccupation of Airbus sincethe beginning. Airbus has sharpened and embedded its environmental approach into an Environment,Health and Safety (EHS) policy, designed to align, channel and leverage the separate environmentalinitiatives across the company.

i n f o r m a t i o ni n f o r m a t i o n

This new regulation aims to improve

the protection of human health and

the environment while maintaining

competitiveness, and enhancing the

innovative capability of the EU chemicals

industry. REACH will furthermore give

greater responsibility to industry to manage

the risks from chemicals and to provide

safety information that will be passed down

the supply chain.

REACH Registration, Evaluation,Authorisation of Chemicals EC n°1907/2006

Investing inresearch to

designcleaner aircraft

Managing the

supply chainfor a shared vision of

environmental responsibility

Investing innew best practices to

disassemble and recycle

end-of-cycleaircraft

Optimisingaircraft operations & maintenancefor enhanced environmental performance

Developing intermodal

transportsolutions for minimal

infrastructure footprint Managing the impact ofmanufacturingon the environment thanksto cleaner technologies and processes

Life Cycleapproach

Pressure cleaning


be recommended by Airbus to customers and suppliers who wishto address local environmentalissues whilst also improving thequality of their cleaning operations.

HALON FREE EXTINGUISHERS

Halon is a compound in which thehydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbonhave been replaced by bromine andother halogen atoms. It is still usedin fire extinguishers under specificexemption for aviation.

Over the last four years, Airbus andindustrial partners have developeda halon free engine and auxiliarypower unit fire extinguishing sys-tem with a research project called‘ECOLOG’ (Extinguishing ConceptLowering Ozone depletion andGreen house effect).

Following successful testing witha representative system demon-strator, the project was presentedin late 2005 to the FederalAviation Administration (FAA)and the European Aviation SafetyAgency (EASA). The conceptwas seen as so potentiallygroundbreaking that the FAAlaunched its own test campaign toevaluate the new agent’s extin-guishing efficiency. Testing hasbeen successfully completed, andalthough the FAA has notreleased their final report, all thesigns so far point to them beingextremely positive. When accept-ed by the authorities and imple-mented, this will become yetanother Airbus step along the‘environmental road’.

CHROMATE-FREE SURFACEPROTECTIONS AND PROCESSES

Airbus has launched a major initia-tive towards chromate substitutionwithin various applications.

CHROMATE-REDUCED PAINT

Chromate-free primers are used forthe final paint scheme of the A380.Airbus is applying the most mod-ern and environmental friendlytechniques for the A380 paintingprocess. Electrostatic paint gunsare used to minimize paint mist.Used air is cleaned and washedthrough a multi-stage cleaningprocess to ensure that paint parti-cles are disposed of separately.

CHROMATE-FREE ANODIZINGPROCESS

Since the introduction of alumini-um alloys into aircraft airframeconstruction (which was at thattime a quantum leap), it soonbecame apparent that under certaincircumstances these alloys pre-ferred to return to their naturaloxide state i.e. ‘dust’; this ofcourse was a rather inconvenientand undesirable property.

With the enormous advantagesprovided by aluminium alloys (formechanical stress and fatigue ben-efits) it was necessary to find asolution to preserve and stabilizethe integrity of these materials. The turning point in stabilizingthese alloys was the pre-oxidizingof the alloy surface, this process isknown as ‘anodising’.


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have been rendered obsolete due to their potential impacts on envi-ronment and health.

Two significant domains ofimprovement in solvent use atAirbus have been identified.

REPLACEMENT OF CLEANING WITHSOLVENTS BY PRESSURIZED HOTWATER CONTAINING ADDITIVES

This consisted of replacing tradi-tional manual hand cleaning per-formed by surface flooding (withaggressive solvents) and removingresidual material by wiping withcloths.

Solvents used were blends of suit-able hydrocarbons, ethers, estersand alkyl ketones and the processinvolved a high consumption ofsolvent. After two years of researcha new process with zero VOCemissions was established. Duringthis research a number of process-es were considered before finallychoosing a new one. Exhaustivetesting demonstrated the limita-tions of some environmentallyfriendly alternatives such as clean-ing by pressurized additive-free hotwater.

The logical progression was to iden-tify and qualify a non-toxic andnon-volatile additive to improvecleaning effectiveness. The additiveselected had to remove all of thevarious soils and contaminants ofthe manufacturing process and notinduce degradation (such as corro-sion or embrittlement) of the mate-rials it was being applied to.

A number of formulations weretested of which many unfortunatelyprovided poor results. It was thendecided to take a ‘back to basics’theoretical approach with the partic-ipation of a chemical supplier. Fromfive short listed additives testedonly one succeeded in fulfiling andmeeting all of the requirements for amulti-purpose general cleaningprocess. The final additive enrichedpressurised hot water process hasproved to be extremely efficient andhas facilitated deletion of the previ-ous chemical cleaning processesusing solvents.

PRE-IMPREGNATED WIPESCONTAINING ‘NEW GENERATION’SOLVENT

In parallel to the previously men-tioned cleaning process change, further industrial processes investi-gation identified the benefits ofusing pre-impregnated disposablecleaning wipes (cloths). Thisallows disposable wipes to beimpregnated with a cleaning agentsuitable for specific applications.

Airbus is currently employing andincreasingly introducing the appli-cation of impregnated wipes toreplace the previous practice of sur-face ‘flooding and wiping’ with tra-ditional solvents. The benefits ofthese changes also include support-ing the global effort to reduce C02

emissions by reducing the energyused to manufacture and transportvoluminous and heavy chemicals,and also their waste disposal man-agement. This improved technologyis commercially available and can

Anodization tank

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A318 STEEP APPROACH CAPABILITY - MAINLINE JET COMFORT AND EFFICIENCY INTO RESTRICTED AIRPORTS

Daniel CarnellyProduct Marketing Manager

Marketing DivisionA320 Family Programme

Laurence BernadacChief Engineering

Flight Physics ManagerA320 Family Programme

A318 steep approach capabilityMainline jet comfort and efficiencyinto restricted airports

There are numbers of restricted airports around the world where mainline jet operation is presentlynot feasible due to height obstructions, runway length and/or noise restrictions. Perhaps the most significant of these airports is London City airport, which is shown in the picture above anddescribed in more detail later. To answer this, Airbus has been working towards qualifying the A318for steep approach since its type certification in May 2003.

This capability will allow mainline jet operations into airfields with steeper than normal approachrequirements due to obstacles or noise constraints.

This article provides an overview of the benefits this new capability will bring to the latest A320Family member as well as a summary of the technical solutions developed by Airbus to provide thiscapability.

The chrome-based chemicals usedto achieve these protective coatingsare now targeted as environmental-ly unfriendly. Therefore there isongoing activity to find more EHSacceptable alternatives.

In 2002 Airbus launched a pro-gramme to investigate possiblefriendly alternative anodic process-es. Following extensive investiga-tion and research ‘TartaricSulphuric Acid Anodising’ (TSAA)proved to be the most suitablereplacement for corrosion preven-tion. Airbus has introduced thisnew TSAA anodising process toreplace the current chromic acidanodising process in one of itsfacilities. The change has been promoted and introduced byAirbus to demonstrate the real pos-sibilities for exchanging traditional(safe and secure) surface technolo-gies for new innovative alternativesolutions. The new anodic processwill allow a higher oxide filmthickness whilst maintaining atminimum, the same or better performance in fatigue.

Airbus will continue to up-scalethe new TSAA process throughoutits manufacturing facilities. Thiswill be implemented at selectedoptimum opportunities, which willnot impact or interrupt the currentmanufacturing cycle time. Theongoing programmes will initiatematerial and process changes asacceptable state-of-the-art alterna-tives are identified.

For Airbus customers and Main-tenance Repair and Overhaul centre’s involved with structuralmodification and repairs there willbe no physical change with theintroduction of TSAA technology,the only changes will be reflectedin Airbus documentation such asthe Structural Repair Manual(SRM), Consumable Materials List(CML) and the Process andMaterials Specification (PMS).There will be no Airbus restrictionon the use of consumable materialand application processes currentlyused and referenced in the exis-ting Airbus documentation formaintenance and repair.


Airbus’ choice to anticipate Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)regulatory developments and introducegreener materials and processes is part ofits commitment to the environment.

Although authorities do not yet mandatereplacement or improvement of somematerials and processes, Airbus believesthat research and implementation ofgreener ways should be done as soon astechnically and economically feasible toimprove EHS.

Airbus has already achieved a lot in theintroduction of environmentally friendlyproducts and processes and is involved inmany activities to develop cleaner, greenerand smarter materials, processes andtechnologies for the future.

As further EHS improvements becomeavailable Airbus will inform the customercommunity of these through the FASTMagazine or other Customer Servicespublications. Environmental information isalso available through environment,economics and social reports onairbus.com.

Conclusion

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CONTACT DETAILS

Thomas McVeighSenior EngineerMaterials and TechnologiesAirbus Customer ServicesTel: + 33 (0)5 61 93 45 30Fax: + 33 (0)5 61 93 36 [email protected]

locations such as Bankstown inSydney, Australia; Stockholm’sBromma airport or the Reykjavikcity airport. In this case, the steepapproach can be used as a noiseabatement procedure. This isbecause at any given distance fromthe threshold of the runway, an air-craft will be higher when making a5.5 degree approach than whenmaking a standard 3 degreeapproach. During this phase offlight, engines are at a low regimeso the noise source is primarilyaerodynamic, but the higher anapproach is over residential neigh-bourhoods the better for the peopleliving there.

As airports expand and the envi-ronmental constraints becomestronger, the steep approachcapability combined with thelower fuel burn than the jets thatthe A318 will replace enhancethe aircraft’s ‘green’ credentials.

Aircraft andoperationalmodifications

The landing configuration of theA318 was initially designed to pro-vide an optimum performance atlanding for standard approaches,which are usually performed on aflight path of 3 degrees. It was clearfrom the beginning that this normallanding configuration was inade-quate to provide the desired descentperformance during a steepapproach. Hence, the first chal-lenge was to define an approachconfiguration that would enableflying the aircraft on a steep flightpath angle of 5.5 degrees. This tar-get was fixed in view of operationsat LCY airport. According to thesteep approach regulations, the air-craft must demonstrate the targetedapproach plus 2 degrees margin,meaning the configuration had toallow the aircraft to fly a flight pathof 7.5 degrees.

To achieve this approach pathangle, the aircraft must either

produce more drag, or less thrust,than on a normal approach. Severalmeans are possible to achieve thisby use of the existing control sur-faces, by decreasing engine thruston approach, or by the addition ofdrag increasing devices on thefuselage. To ensure minimumchanges to the aircraft, the use ofthe existing control surfaces wasthe preferred solution.

The first task was to define anaerodynamic configuration thatwould produce more drag thanthe classical high lift configura-tion in approach with minimumlift degradation. Any change inthe landing configuration resultingin decreased lift would necessitateincreasing approach speed to balance it, which must be avoidedto prevent lengthening of landingdistance and degradation of land-ing performance. This was particu-larly important for LCY airport,due to the very short runway andwas a key driver in the choice ofthe A318 steep approach configu-ration. To achieve the objective anaerodynamic configuration usingthe classical high lift configurationat landing, plus partial airbrakesextension was defined. This exten-sion was optimized for the bestcompromise between descent per-formance and lift degradation, withonly two spoilers (3 and 4)deployed over the three normallyused in the speedbrake function,and deflected with the same angle.The final configuration and deflec-tion angle of 30 degrees were validated in flight test.

After this, the crew interface and system adaptations weredeveloped to minimize steepapproach specificities in opera-tions. Selection of the steepapproach mode is done by a pushbutton on the overhead panel in thecockpit, which arms the mode andchecks system availability. Themode then becomes active once thelanding configuration is selectedand the speedbrakes are deflected.The cockpit displays are adapted toprovide the crew with relevant

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Why steepapproachrequirements areneeded?The need to have a steep approachcapability to operate into airportsthat have a challenging obstacleenvironment and already requiresuch a capability for operationtoday is self-evident. Whether it islarge buildings at city centre air-ports, prime amongst which isLondon City airport (LCY), or air-ports in mountainous terrain suchas Sion or Lugano (both inSwitzerland), it is Airbus’ aim to beable to bring mainline jet comfortinto airports where larger aircrafthave struggled to operate due toobstacle constraints. Often theseairports also have short runways –again usually due to the obstacleenvironment around them – and itis obvious why an A318 steepapproach capability becomesimportant. When combined withthe ‘Florence Kit’ (see information),a series of hardware and softwaremodifications including theupward deflection of ailerons to actas spoilers, that has been designedto improve the landing perfor-mance characteristics of the A320Family, the steep approach capa-bility turns the A318 into asuperb performer not just able toserve existing routes but also toopen new ones for the first time.

This capability becomes doublyimportant as the A318 is the only100 seat airliner to have a steepapproach capability that is inproduction today. Also, passen-gers prefer to have a jet servicerather than a turboprop one. Duelargely to all A320 Family mem-bers sharing the same wing andengines (in the case of theCFM56), the A318 has an excel-lent take-off performance thatalmost doubles the range capabili-ty offered by the 100 seat jets thatit will eventually replace – andwhilst burning up to 40% less fuelper seat.

LCY airport is perhaps the mostsignificant example of one of thechallenging environments that thiscapability was developed for. It islocated very close to the financialdistrict of London and is muchmore convenient for people wholive and work in this area thanHeathrow or Gatwick airports, as itis only a 15 minute journey away.Furthermore, due to the size of theairport and the volume of passen-gers, the time from check-in,through security and to the aircraftis much shorter (10 to 15 minutesagainst up to two hours at themajor hubs). LCY airport is there-fore much more convenient for theLondon financial community thanother London airports. However,this airport can only be servedtoday by turboprops and the previ-ous generation of 100 seat jets dueto its obstacle constraints. TheA318 will allow operators to offera superior on-board product thanthat offered today, often matchingthat already in service with theirmainline fleet of A320 Family air-craft, as the A318 offers exactly thesame cabin, seat width and comfortlevels as the rest of the family. Thisis doubly so now that the EnhancedCabin for the A320 Family hascome into service.

A city airport capability is also ofbenefit to the A318 Elite, the cor-porate version of the A318, whichhas the steep approach capabili-ty fitted as basic equipment.When combined with the AuxiliaryCentre Tank, this means that largeprivate jet levels of comfort can bebrought to city centre airports thatpreviously could not handle such alarge corporate aircraft. For thismarket, in particular, time ismoney and so the closer that theindividuals who use such aircraftcan arrive to city centre financialdistrict locations, the better.

A second, and perhaps less obvi-ous, use for the steep approachcapability is what makes the A318a good neighbour for residentsliving close to airports, particu-larly once again for those in city

i n f o r m a t i o ni n f o r m a t i o n

The ‘Florence Kit’ is a set of modifications

developed first on the A319 to improve

landing performance at Florence airport in

Italy. This kit is now also available on the

A318. It consists of:

• Using the ailerons as spoilers on the

ground (upward deflection) to improve

braking efficiency

• Defining an alternate forward centre of

gravity limit that enables decrease of

the approach speed, thus improving

the landing performance

By courtesy of London City airport

Aerodynamic configuration

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Top of descent – P/B switched ON

information on the mode availabili-ty once selected. From a cockpitand general crew interface point of view, steep approach proce-dures have been made as similaras possible to the existing Airbusstandard.

Due to the increased flight pathangle during a steep approach air-craft vertical speed is increased andthe landing becomes more dynamicthan a classical one. Hence, theneed to break the aircraft trajectorybefore touchdown is of primaryimportance. There-fore, specialcare was given to the flare phase forwhich two specific features weredeveloped to assist the crew. • The first was the introduction

of a dedicated audio calloutduring final approach thatguides the pilot to the correctmoment to flare the aircraft.

• The second one, patented by Airbus, is a partial auto-retraction of the speedbrakesjust before flare that limitspitch attitude variation duringflare. This is transparent to the crew but efficient for their aircraft handling as itallows them to maintain a visual external reference during flare as close as possible to a classical approachwhile naturally generating the lift necessary to break the trajectory.

Other systems and flight controllaws modifications have beenintroduced to accommodate thenew steep approach configurationand ensure that it provides appro-priate handling qualities and flightprotections during approach. Forexample, Airbus has improved theexisting steep approach mode forground proximity warning andtraffic collision avoidance systems(EGPWS-T2CAS) and proposed aspecific envelope with alert thresh-olds adapted to the specific descentrate of the A318. This alert allowsavoiding excessive flight pathangle excursion away from thesteep glide. Modifications weremade to flight control laws in gen-eral, the aim being to provide thesame level of safety in steepapproach configuration as in anyother landing configuration.Modifications address some pointsof the angle of attack protection,the speedbrake logic and someparts of the longitudinal law for theflare. The autopilot was also tunedas well to be as effective as fornominal operations.

Thanks to these features, no dedi-cated pilot training will be neces-sary to become familiar with steepapproaches on the A318. All pilotsqualified on the A320 Family aircraft will be able to fly steepapproaches on the A318 withouttraining other than the classical

A320 training. Operational pilottraining will of course remain nec-essary on site whenever the airfieldcharacteristics require so, as forany other aircraft. Airbus trainingdepartment will provide trainingtools (Flight Crew TrainingManual and eBriefing), but nosimulator or other training sessionwill be required as it is consideredto be easily manageable to fly steepapproaches.

Standard operating procedureshave been defined for steepapproaches based on the extensiveflight test campaign performed onthe A318 and will be introducedinto the operational documentation.

An extensive flighttest campaign

All these modifications were devel-oped and tested in several steps toreach the targeted level of maturityof the steep approach function.Tests were first performed in a sim-ulator where the LCY airport envi-ronment was reproduced toimprove the accuracy of the visualscene (steep approach on a shortand narrow runway). Then the con-figuration was fitted on a prototypeA318 for flight tests with differentpilots to complete developmentand certification of the function.

For this purpose, a visual guidance system called PAPI (PrecisionApproach Path Indicator) wasinstalled at Toulouse Blagnac air-port to guide the aircraft through anapproach at 5.5 degrees.

The first objective of this flight testcampaign was to check generalhandling qualities and perfor-mance in steep approach condi-tions through free air assessment ofthe new aerodynamic configura-tion. Secondly, much effort was putinto the flare phase assessment andan extensive campaign was carriedout to assess approach, flare andlanding in any aircraft configura-tion with a wide panel of flight testpilots. Another goal of this cam-paign was to validate the adapta-tion of flight control and displaycomputers. All these flight testswere necessary to develop a robustconfiguration for steep approachand certify the configuration.

A total of 45 flights, representing70 flight test hours and 220 land-ings were performed to achievethis target. This amount of flighttests performed with many differ-ent crews and various flight condi-tions is the key to maturity of thefunction at entry-into-service.Once the design was welladvanced, airline pilots were alsoinvited to participate in steep

If all of the PAPI system lights are white, you are too high.

If only the light on the right is red and the other are white, you areslightly high.

When you are on theguide path, the two lights on the left are white and the two lights on the right are red.

If all of the PAPI system lights are red, you arebelow the guide path.

If only the light on theleft is white and the other are red, you are slightly low.

You are on the guide path.You are too high. You are below the guide path.

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The steep approach capability of the A318 will allow it to replace the previousgeneration of 100 seat jets and somelarger turboprops, bringing the majorbenefits of A320 Family comfort levels andthe preferred feel of a ‘big jet’ topassengers at restricted airports such asthose mentioned previously, others likeParo in Bhutan, or in the Americas(depending on authority approval for steepapproaches). Reduced fuel burn and therange to offer passenger’s newdestinations that could not be previouslyserved from restricted airports are benefitsfor operators.

The easiness of flying steep approacheswith the A318 is also an operationalbenefit, as no exceptional pilot skills orextra training (other than airport specific)

are required. Introduction of a Head-upDisplay, which is ongoing at the moment,will also enhance the ease of operatingsteep approaches. Finally, A318 steepapproaches can bring reduced noiselevels to airport communities and enhancethe aircraft’s ‘green’ credentials.

Installation of the steep approach featureswill be available as an option for the A318,and proposed as standard for itsCorporate Jet version, the A318 ELITE.

Certification of the A318 steep approachcapability for models with Pratt & WhitneyPW6000 engines was granted by theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency on 19 June 2007 and is expected in thefourth quarter of 2007 for CFM56-5Bpowered aircraft.

CONTACT DETAILS

Laurence BernadacChief EngineeringFlight Physics ManagerA320 Family ProgrammeTel: +33 (0)5 61 18 14 48Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 07 [email protected]

Daniel CarnellyProduct Marketing Manager Marketing DivisionA320 Family ProgrammeTel: +33 (0)5 62 11 81 92Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 31 [email protected]

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approach flight tests to gatheroperational comments on thedesign and associated procedures.

In addition, complementary testingwas performed at LCY airport toacquire knowledge of a real airportenvironment (traffic, air trafficcontrol, obstacles) and check theconfiguration was adequate in thisenvironment. This technical evalu-ation also gave an opportunity tocheck the aircraft compatibilitywith the airport’s tough noiserequirements. Two campaigns weresuccessively organized in May andOctober 2006, first with a fullyinstrumented prototype aircraft,and second with a production air-craft on which the steep approachentry-into-service package wasembodied.

These last trials were witnessedby EASA (European AviationSafety Authority) representativesand by airline pilots who wereenthusiastic about the easiness offlying steep approaches with theA318.

An Airbus team captured the noisesignatures of the aircraft duringtake-offs with the results that theperceived noise levels of the A318were lower than those of other air-craft operating the same day.

This flight testing demonstra-ted the adequacy of the A318 for operations at LCY airport,including ground manoeuvring.

Conclusion

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THE FUTURE AIR NAVIGATION SYSTEM FANS B - AIR TRAFFIC COMMUNICATIONS ENHANCEMENT FOR THE A320 FAMILY

Sophie de CuendiasDesign Manager

Upgrade ServicesAirbus Customer Services

In today’s busy Air Traffic Control (ATC) environment, and especially in high-density continental airspace, congestion on the voice channels used by air traffic controllers and pilots can be one of the limiting factors in sector capacity and safety.

Most messages on the voice channels are for routine activities such as the transfer of voice communications, flight level requests and clearances, route and heading clearances and requests,speed clearances and Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) code changes. Pilots and controllers need to exchange information in a flexible, reliable and secure manner.

The Future AirNavigation SystemFANS BAir traffic communicationsenhancement for the A320 Family

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Current FANS 1/A data link services 2005-2011 Link 2000+ Programme data link services (FANS B)


The pioneer airlines are presently:Finnair, Aeroflot-Russian Interna-tional Airlines, Air Berlin, Air Europa, Airbus TransportInternational, Alitalia, AmericanAirlines, Federal Express, Niki,Hapag-Lloyd, Lufttransport Unter-nehmen, Lufthansa, Lufthansa City Line, Malev, ScandinavianAirlines and SAS Braathens.Tarom-Romanian Air Transport isalso considering joining. Currently,these airlines operate more than600 Airbus aircraft and have com-mitted more than 160 Airbus air-craft to the Link 2000+ Programmepioneer phase. Operator accep-tance for the pioneer phase isplanned to end during 2007.

Following the pioneer phase, theLink 2000+ Programme is cur-rently investigating introducingincentives for those aircraft that areController Pilot Data LinkCommunications/AeronauticalTelecommunications Network(CPDLC/ATN) equipped and oper-ate in Link 2000+ Programme air-space. The intended follow-onfrom this incentive phase will be a‘mandate’ phase where all aircraftoperators flying in Link 2000+Programme airspace will berequired to equip with CPDLC/ATN avionics, subject to certainconditions.

Incentive and mandate phases willrequire an upgrade of existing products to be compliant with theEurocae standard ED 110B toremove the requirement for voicereadback.

Link 2000+Programmeapplications andservicesTHE CONTEXT MANAGEMENTAPPLICATION (CMA)

This application provides the DataLink Initiation Capability (DLIC)service that is mandatory prior to any CPDLC connection. This

function will typically be initiatedwhen an aircraft is either at the gatein the pre-departure phase of flight,or before entering a new FlightInformation Region (FIR) support-ing data link communications. It provides the ground with thenecessary information to makedata link communications possiblebetween the controller and the aircraft:• Aircraft 24 bit address• Aircraft flight identification• Departure/destination airport• Facility designation• Information about available

air applications

THE CONTROLLER PILOT DATA-LINKCOMMUNICATION (CPDLC)APPLICATION

The CPDLC application providesdirect pilot/controller communica-tion using data link between an aircraft and the controlling ATCcentre. A voice readback isrequired for any messages relatedto any changes of the aircraft trajectory.

This application provides a set of data link message elements corresponding to existing Inter-national Civil Aviation Organiza-tion (ICAO) phraseology.

Functions provided by the CPDLCapplication are:• The ATC Communication

Management (ACM) Service • The ATC Clearance (ACL)

Service • The ATC Microphone Check

(AMC) Service

AIR NAVIGATION SERVICE PROVIDER(ANSP) COMMITMENT

Maastricht centre (the pioneer ATCcentre) has been controlling flightsusing CPDLC since 2005. Most ofthe European ATC centres havecommitted themselves to the Link2000+ and their deployments areproceeding to schedule. OtherANSPs are split into two groups,those able to achieve by 2008 andthe others able to achieve by 2011. FA

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ANSPs committed for 2008Country ANSPGermany DFSSwitzerland SkyguideItaly ENAVIreland IAA

ANSPs committed for 2011Country ANSPPortugal NAV PortugalFrance DSNAUK UK NATSSpain AENA

A Preliminary Eurocontrol Trial(PETAL), the Eurocontrol test ofair/ground data link, a project atAirbus and the Maastricht UpperAirspace Centre (UAC), and itsfollow-on PETAL II, also conduct-ed until the end of 2001 at theMaastricht UAC, demonstratedthat the transmission of digital datavia air/ground data link offers areliable alternative to voice com-munications in relieving spectrumand ATC congestion and improv-ing safety in air transport. TheMaastricht UAC controls the upperairspace of Belgium, the Nether-lands, Luxembourg and part ofGermany, which carries a lot ofEurope’s air traffic.

The experience gained from thePETAL projects was used for anew project in Europe known as the Link 2000+ Programme,which provides air traffic controllers and pilots with a secondcommunication channel: An air/ground data link, over anAeronautical Telecommunica-tions Network/VHF Data Link(ATN/VDL) Mode 2 infrastructurein the core area of Europe. VDL mode 2 compared to VDL

mode A improves the data rateexchanges between aircraft and theground station (data rate multipliedby ten, new modulation scheme,new communication protocol).

Link 2000+Programmephasedimplementation

Link 2000+ Programme will startwith a pioneer phase whose objec-tive is to gain operational experi-ence on ATC data link use, withpioneer airlines and pioneer ATCcentres, to prepare for full deploy-ment of ATC data link in Europe’supper airspace. The product need-ed for the Link 2000+ Programmepioneer phase requires a voicereadback in accordance withEuropean Organization for CivilAviation Equipment (Eurocae)standard ED-110A, which providesan interoperability requirementsstandard for the initial implemen-tation of the Aeronautical Tele-communications network (ATN),which supports several Air Trafficservices.

2007 Worldwide air trafficdata link services

Future Air Navigation System B (FANS B)

The FANS B product is Airbusresponse to the Eurocontrol Link2000+ Programme for utilizationof ATC data link in continentalareas (high density airspaces withradar surveillance) in the en-routephase, using the ATN air-groundcommunication network. As ATNis operational only in Europe,FANS B is proposed only on A320Family aircraft for the time being.

The first FANS B package allowsairline participation in early imple-mentation phases of the Link2000+ Programme - the ‘pioneerphase’. Airbus pioneer customersare Aeroflot-Russian InternationalAirlines, Alitalia, Finnair, Niki,Lufttransport Unternehmen, RoyalJordanian, and Tarom-RomanianAir Transport.

For the following phases Airbus isaiming at a single FANS B evolu-tion enabling airlines to be eligible

and benefit from the incentivephase, and also be compliant withthe Link 2000+ Programme man-date. Airbus is closely cooperatingwith Link 2000+ Programme man-agement to finalize incentives andmandate conditions in the bestinterests of Airbus customers.

FANS B APPLICATIONS ANDSERVICES

The Airbus FANS B product offers,at aircraft level, over ATN air-ground communication networkand through VDL Mode 2 sub-net-work, the data link applications andservices (Context ManagementApplication, Controller Pilot Data-Link Communication applicationand ATC Communication Mana-gement, ATC Clearance, and ATC Microphone Check services)in accordance with Link 2000+Programme specifications.

FANS B ARCHITECTURE

The FANS B architecture is the fol-lowing:• The airborne part with the

ATSU (Air Traffic ServiceUnit), which is a modularhosting platform that centralizesall data communications (ATCand AOC/Airline OperationsCommunications) and managesthe dedicated Human MachineInterface (HMI)

• The air/ground data link:- ACARS (Aircraft

Communication Addressingand Reporting System) overVDL mode A/2, Satcom orHFDL (HF Data Link) areused to transmit AOC data.Satcom and HFDL for AOCare optional in the ATSUarchitecture

- ATN over VDL mode 2 only,is used to transmit ATC data tothe ground for communicationpurposes

- The ground/ground data link:Two types of network have tobe considered, the ACARS network for AOC messages and ATN network for ATCmessages


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ANSP implementation plan

2005 2008 2011

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Data link communications betweenthe aircraft and the airline opera-tions centre optimize aircraft andcrew management, improve datamanagement like engine trendmonitoring or maintenance reports,optimize spares management andspeed up repairs.

ON BOARD EQUIPMENT

The FANS B installation requires aminimum standard of the follow-ing equipment/installation:• ATSU and Data link Control

and Display Units (DCDU) provision

• Two DCDUs that allow theflight crew to read, and answer,to CPDLC messages receivedfrom the ground

• Two pushbuttons with ‘attention getters’ on the glareshield controlled by both FlightWarning Computers (FWCs)

• One VHF Data Radio (VDR 3)capable of VDL mode 2

• Two Multi Purpose Control andDisplay Units (MCDUs)

• Two Flight Warning Computers• The Central Fault Display

Interface Unit (CFDIU)

DCDU

EIS

MCDU

Printer

FMS

CMC

FWC

Clock

...User systems

CommunicationsMedia

Cockpitinterfaces

Hardware

PowerSupply

Processor

Input/Output

Software

HMIManagement

OperatingSystem

Comm.Applications

ATCmodule

AOCmodule

Comm.Ressources

Router

ATN

ACARS

VDR

SATCOM

HFDR

Mode S

Provisions

...

Air Traffic Services Unit - ATSU

FANS B architecture


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i n f o r m a t i o n

FANS A+ is the well-known air/ground data link and navigation system used in low density/oceanic environments.It is basic on all Airbus A330/A340 and available as an option on A320 Family aircraft.

North Atlantic Region benefits from data link.• In 2004, traffic levels exceeded pre–2001 levels• NAV CANADA has reduced communication costs to users

by 50%• 55% of the fleet use either FMC (Flight Management

Computer), WPR (Waypoint Position Reporting) or FANS A+ADS–C for automatic position reporting

Pacific Sub–Region benefits from data link.• Reduced separations to 50/50nm and 30/30nm (trials)• User preferred routes and re-route (trials) for all city pairs

in South Pacific• Weather deviations• Automatic position reporting• 80% of the fleet in South Pacific use CPDLC

(Controller-Pilot Data-Link Communications) and ADS–C,based on FANS A+, 60% in the Central Pacific, and 30% onaverage in the entire Pacific

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Two visual attentiongetters

Two aural ATCalerts

FWC informationaboutabnormal situations

Two DCDUs

ATC menu on eachMCDU

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To ensure proper operation of FANS B aircraft in high-density continental data link airspacesan operator needs to ensure the following:

The FANS B product is the first Airbusanswer to ATN based data link operations.Highly inspired by the FANS A/A+package, FANS B integrates the sameinterfaces and operational principles fordenser airspaces and for thecharacteristics of the ATN environment(network architecture, technicalacknowledgement timestamp, timers).

FANS B enables aircrew to manage datalink communications between the aircraftand the ground Air Traffic Services, as wellas communications between the aircraftand the AOC.

The availability of a second means ofcommunication reduces communicationerrors, aircrew and controller workloadand fatigue and will thus contribute tohigher safety levels - radio voicecommunications have a number ofdrawbacks in today’s busy trafficenvironment and pilots have to listen toeach controller-initiated communication.

Other benefits are expected with the entryinto operations of the data link technologyin European airspaces such as anincrease of airspace capacity by:- 3.4% with a data link equipage

rate of 25%*- 8% with a data link equipage

rate of 50%*- 11% with a data link equipage

rate of 75%*

The above benefits are thanks toimprovements such as better task sharingbetween controllers.

The Link 2000+ Programme can only besuccessful with the wide involvement ofair navigation service providers,communication service providers, airlinesand of course controllers and pilots. Thisis now under way – a contribution to safer,on-time aircraft operations.

It is anticipated that other regions willdeploy ATN data link capabilities in theirenvironment. A strong internationalstandardization effort, in which Airbus hasa key role, is being made to haveinteroperable standards. In particularCPDLC is part of Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) Next Generation AirTransportation System (NGATS).

Link 2000+ Programme and FANS B arekey components of the Single EuropeanSky ATM (Air Traffic Management)Research (SESAR) concept for futureEuropean Air Traffic Management System. Any airlines interested in information aboutFANS B or in upgrading their aircraft tothis standard are invited to contact AirbusCustomer Services Upgrade Services [email protected] or consultthe ‘getting to grips with Fans B in high-density continental areas part III’ brochuredistributed by Airbus.

Conclusion

* Figures given in the Eurocontrol website

THE FANS B HUMAN MACHINEINTERFACE (HMI)

The preceding product, FANS A+,has been in use for oceanic andremote area operations for severalyears (see information). The mainHMI principles, defined on theA330/A340 and A320 FamilyFANS A+ installation, are alsoused on FANS B.

The HMI equipment used in thecockpit for FANS B functions are:• Two DCDUs• The MCDU to access the ATC

message MENU• Electronic Centralized Aircraft

Monitor (ECAM) pages andalerts for FWC informationabout abnormal situations

• Two push buttons with visualattention getters, and the twoassociated aural ATC alerts

• The printer

A configuration with two DCDUswas chosen in accordance with safe-ty studies and human factors stud-ies, because of a clear dissociationof the ATC communication fromother communications; absence ofinterference with the previouslyexisting crew operational proce-dures; direct full time availability ofATC clearance messages; and itslocation in the forward field of viewnear the MCDUs.

The ATC alerts consist of:• An aural alert:

A specific sound named‘RING’ (double brief ringing-phone-like alert)

• A visual alert: Two flashing lighted push-button switches labelled ‘ATCMSG’ (one for CAPT, one forF/O), located in the glare shield.The flashing period is onesecond

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Sophie de CuendiasDesign ManagerUpgrade ServicesAirbus Customer ServicesTel: +33 (0)5 62 11 05 60Fax: +33 (0)5 62 11 08 [email protected]

*ARINC: Aeronautical Radio INC SITA: Sté. Internationale de Telecommunications Aéronautiques

a) A contract with a Data Service Provider, DSP (ARINC or SITA*) is signedb) The aircraft is declared to the data link service providerc) The aircraft and its FANS capability is declared to the ATC centres of the operated routesd) The aircraft’s avionics are properly configurede) Operational approval is obtained

2

FAIR is adding collaboration to theexisting communication means andmedia, with the objective of identi-fying key customer issues andbringing to them the best solutions.Benefiting from new web tech-nologies, FAIR has been developedin a two-step approach:

1. Establish web-based forumsthat allow the airlines andAirbus to openly exchangetheir experience andexpectations in specificdomains of support andservices

2. Establish joint airlines/Airbusdecision-making processes ineach forum, in order to definethe required go-forward plans

The first FAIR forum Airbus hasdeveloped is FAIR-ISP (In-ServiceProblems). FAIR-ISP enhancescollaboration between the airlinesand Airbus for the identification,evaluation, prioritization and reso-lution of In-Service Problems (seedefinitions next page).

Other FAIR forums are beingdeveloped. With the creation ofother FAIR forums dedicated tovarious support and services, FAIRwill progressively become theglobal collaborative platformbetween the airlines and AirbusCustomer Services.

FAIR-ISP ON-LINE FORUM - INCREASING AIRLINES AND AIRBUS COLLABORATION ON IN-SERVICE FLEET ISSUESAirline 3

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FAIR: More forums are being developedIn addition to FAIR-ISP, two other forums are currently under development.

FAIR-OPS, a forum for the Flight Operationsdomain, has received strong support fromairlines. The initial specification was workedupon in a workshop in March 2007 with flightoperations representatives from airlines alreadyactive with FAIR-ISP.The FAIR-OPS project was presented to theairline community in the 15th Performance andOperations conference in April 2007.The first version of the FAIR-OPS software willbe reviewed with airlines in a workshop in thefourth quarter of 2007 and deployment will startearly in 2008.

FAIR-A350 XWB is a forum that will bededicated to the Airbus A350 XWB development.It is aimed at further improving communicationbetween A350 XWB confirmed and potentialcustomers and the Airbus A350 XWBdevelopment teams. To complement existingface-to-face A350 XWB progress reviews, theforum will allow permanent exchanges. This willresult in enhanced uniformity between the A350XWB design and airline community expectationsthroughout the aircraft development phases,until Entry Into Service.Deployment of FAIR-A350XWB is planned forOctober 2007.

• Bilateral discussions• Airbus decisions

Without FAIR

→ Bilateral discussions maintained→ Multilateral discussions added→ Joint decisions

FAIR-ISP ON-LINE FORUM - INCREASING AIRLINES AND AIRBUS COLLABORATION ON IN-SERVICE FLEET ISSUESFA

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Denis TissiéDeputy Vice-President A330/A340 Programme

Airbus Customer Services

The size of the Airbus fleet in-service has dramatically increased in recent years and a huge amount of experience is accumulating from almost 5,000 in-service aircraft and their millions of flight hours.This is raising questions for support and services:• How can this huge and fast growing in-service experience be better shared for the benefit of all

airlines?• How can Airbus better determine and prioritize key issues for the worldwide fleet?• How can Airbus bring effective solutions to these key issues, which meet customers’ expectations?

These are the main questions that have driven Airbus to launch a new service called FAIR, standing for Forum with Airlines for Interactive Resolution.

Initial experiencefrom the FAIR-ISP

on-line forumIncreasing airlines and Airbus

collaboration on in-servicefleet issues

With FAIR


After a one-year development with 19 airlines and a one-year pilot phase with up to 42 airlines,FAIR-ISP was deployed to the worldwide fleet inDecember 2006. It has already met with greatsuccess among the 100 operators using theservice.

Roles andresponsibilitiesFour different roles have beendefined among FAIR-ISP users.Each role has its privileges, makingthe whole process totally clear andeasing participation and decisions(see definitions).

THE READER/DRAFTER

This is the default role of anyFAIR-ISP user.

Reader/drafter access to the FAIR-ISP tool is controlled by the airlineUser Entity Administrator (UEA).Each airline UEA can create anunlimited number of FAIR-ISPreader/drafter accounts.

A FAIR-ISP reader/drafter canconsult the forum and can createand save drafts of FAIR items. Thedraft items are only visible to usersof the drafter’s airline. The itemsthat can be drafted are: New In-Service Problems, comments onIn-Service Problems, replies tocomments or assessments of In-Service Problems.

When a draft has been finalizedand is deemed ready for posting onthe forum, the reader/drafter canflag it as ‘Ready to post’ in the soft-ware. The items in ‘Ready to post’status are then displayed to thewriter/validator (see following) ofthe airline.

This draft process allows anymaintenance or engineering spe-cialist within the airline to preparethe items for posting by their writ-ers/validators.

THE WRITER/VALIDATOR

The number of writers/validatorsis limited to two per aircraft fami-ly operated by the airline. Theyhave a management level andtherefore can act on behalf of theirairline. Limiting the number ofwriters/validators to managementlevels who have an overview of

their fleet operations ensures thatitems posted on the forum are ofinterest to the other users andremain fleet level issues.

Writer/validator access to theFAIR-ISP tool is controlled by theAirbus FAIR administrator.

FAIR-ISP writers/validators havereader/drafter rights. In addition totheir reader/drafter rights, they areresponsible for posting their airline’scontributions on the forum. For thispurpose, they can consult, edit,delete, or post all ‘Ready to post’drafts. A writer/validator can alsodirectly create and post items with-out going through the draft process.

THE SCREENING COMMITTEEMEMBER

The Screening Committees are thedecision bodies of the FAIR-ISPprocess. They are aircraft family-specific (A300/A310, A320,A330/A340) and consist of around12 representatives selected fromthe writers/validators of participat-ing airlines.

Each Screening Committee gathersregularly (every four to six weeks)through Webex conference calls, toreview the ISP, define ISP closurecriteria, select and prioritizeMISPs, agree MISP resolution andagree MISP closure. All ScreeningCommittee decisions are taken forthe benefit of the entire fleet. Theagenda and minutes are approvedby the airline co-chairmen (see following) and posted on the forumfor everyone to consult.

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FAIR-ISP ON-LINE FORUM - INCREASING AIRLINES AND AIRBUS COLLABORATION ON IN-SERVICE FLEET ISSUES

Reader/drafterAnyone who has access to FAIR-ISP can create a draft ofcontribution elements

Writer/validatorTwo senior managers per airline per operated aircrafttype can post contributing elements on FAIR-ISP

A contribution elementA contribution element may be:• An ISP• A comment to an ISP• A reply to a comment• An assessment of an ISP

FAIR-ISP draft process

In-Service ProblemISPAn ISP is a recurring issue thatan airline is facing on its fleet in-service and hasan impact on:• operations• maintenance costs• aircraft availability • passenger perception • or on the environmentAn ISP materializes with FAIR-ISPinto an item that an airline willpost on the online forum.

Major In-ServiceProblem MISPA MISP is an ISP that is classifiedas major because of significantimpact on:• continued airworthiness • and/or costs • operational performance • passenger perception • or airframe image A subject is accepted as a MISPby the FAIR-ISP ScreeningCommittee.


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The FAIR-ISPprocess

As described previously, FAIR-ISPis not just an on-line forum, it is also a tool for making deci-sions. The most important one to be made is to decide if anISP that one airline has identifiedis a major fleet issue, a so calledMajor In-Service Problem (MISP),that needs to be resolved as a highpriority (see definitions).

For this purpose, the FAIR-ISPprocess is split into three majorcollaboration phases, consisting

of nine successive steps, each cov-ering one part of the In-ServiceProblems identification, prioriti-zation and resolution process. Ineach phase, the airlines and Airbuscan voice and share their opinionsand their experience. Forum contri-butions allow a joint airlines/AirbusScreening Committee to make thebest decisions for the benefit of theentire fleet.

Through enhanced transparency andsharing of opinions, all phases con-tribute to the following objectives:• Focus on the MISPs affecting

the fleet in-service,• Agree resolution of these MISPs

Phase 2: Agreement and production of solutions to address the MISP

Phase 3: Verification of solution effectiveness and MISP closure

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d e f i n i t i o n s

d e f i n i t i o n s

To raise a new ISP

To post a new comment on the selected ISP

To post an assessment on the selected ISP

To export the items that are displayed in the current view

Announcements provide general information on FAIR-ISP. These are posted bythe FAIR administrator.

To delete an existing draft ISP, a draft comment/reply or a draft assessment that the user no longer wishes to post on the forum.

To display the item details or summary

To modify an existing draft ISP, a draft comment/reply or a draft assessment (function available until the item is finally posted by a validator).

To receive real time email notification of any new inputbeing posted by other users onthe selected ISP

Preview pane: Shows the contents of the selected item (ISP, comment, reply, assessment, announcement)To reply to the selected comment

The FAIR software is in continu-ous evolution to include functionalevolutions or ergonomic enhance-ments as requested by the users.Users have praised the friendlinessand simplicity of the FAIR soft-ware tool. Continuous improve-ment is ensured while performanceis being monitored very closely.

FAIR-ISP status

FAIR-ISP is moving towards thesuccess expected thanks to airlinecontributions. While still in aramp-up phase, nevertheless, air-line contributions keep increasingat a good pace (see information) .

CONNECTION RAMP-UP

The number of airlines connectedsince the official FAIR-ISP open-ing in December 2006 has morethan doubled. This is evolving veryquickly: The 100th airline was connected in May 2007.

The Airbus flying fleet is also wellrepresented through a very bal-anced worldwide distribution ofconnected airlines. However, themajority of airlines connected toFAIR-ISP are mostly consultingthe forum and only part of them areactively posting.

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The FAIR-ISP main page

Airlines’ contributions (May 2007)

• 70 % of the Airbus in-service fleet

• 100 operators of all aircraft families

• 5,000 users in reader/drafter mode

• 170 writer/validators

• 160 In-Service Problems

• 13 agreed as Major In-Service Problems

• 2 MISPs with solutions agreed

• 45 ISPs closed, usually with a solution


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The Screening Committee processalso prevents accumulation of abacklog of open items in FAIR-ISP.At the end of the FAIR-ISP phase1, the inactive, general discussionor low priority items are screenedand closed as required.

Any airline can apply forScreening Committee member-ship. A yearly renewal is plannedwith a turnover of 25%.Candidates will be selected basedon their contribution to the forum.

THE SCREENING COMMITTEE AIRLINE CO-CHAIRMEN

There are two airline co-chairmenfor each Screening Committee, oneprime and one backup.

The prime airline co-chairman co-chairs the Screening Committeewith the Airbus co-chairman.There is always one airline co-chairman participating in theScreening Committee. During themeeting, the airline co-chairmancan act as discussion facilitator toensure that fleet interests are considered rather than individualairlines interests. They can alsomitigate or advocate the differentstandpoints of Screening Commit-tee members to reach a consensus.

The airline co-chairmen contributealso to the Screening Committeeagenda preparation. The airline co-chairmen validate ScreeningCommittee meeting minutesbefore distribution to the FAIR-ISP community. Finally, the air-line co-chairmen guarantee that

the FAIR-ISP rules and guide-lines are applied by all airlines

and can intervene when users donot comply with the FAIR SpecificTerms and Conditions (STC).

The prime airline co-chairman isreplaced every year by the back-up co-chairman. The back-up co-chairman is in turn replaced by anew back-up, to be elected by theScreening Committee.

The FAIR softwareFAIR has been designed by the air-lines for the airlines. A panel of 19airlines representing the fleet (geo-graphical distribution, fleet andtype of operation) actively con-tributed to the development and theindustrialization of the process andtool. This led to the specification ofa web-based forum software, avail-able on the AirbusWorld portal.

The key drivers for software devel-opment were friendliness and simplicity. Some of the mainappreciated features are:• All major functions such as

Raise, Comment, Assess, Edit,Display details, Displaysummary, are accessible viasimple buttons on the mainscreen

• Customized views: Users haveaccess to predefined views andcan even define their owncustom view, based on theirpreferences (aircraft type, ATAchapter, etc)

• Notification system: Users arenotified of new items matchingtheir preferences. FAIR userscan adjust frequency ofnotification and can alsosubscribe to specific items ofparticular interest to them, forwhich they will receive realtime notification

• Draft items: Users can draft andsubmit draft items for postingby their fleet writers/validators

• ‘Summary’ and ‘Details’ sheets:Users can open a one-pagesummary or a full description ofany item. They can print or savethem in PDF format on theirown PC

• Assessment: Users can assessan ISP severity by filling andposting the impact assessmentform

• Votes: Users can voice theirpreferred proposed solution to aMISP by submitting their vote

• Multi-criteria search: Users canquery the FAIR-ISP databasewith an advanced search enginecombining raw text and list ofvalues search

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Since the official opening of the FAIR-ISPforum in December 2006, things areprogressing very quickly and very much inthe direction expected. One hundredoperators are connected today andseveral additional ones are being addedevery month.

The FAIR-ISP decision process is workingas expected, with up to 13 MISPs openedon the forum, 45 items closed (usuallywith a solution) and others beingdiscussed or monitored.

Feedback from the airlines using FAIR-ISPis positive and they highlight numerousbenefits of using the process with the toptwo being: • Managing together with Airbus the list of

top fleet issues and being able withAirbus to define the top priorities to beaddressed

• Defining and delivering solutions that arevalidated, or even improved, by airlinesthrough FAIR-ISP

The FAIR-ISP process provides a new andinnovative means for airlines and Airbus to

work together in a common on-line forumto share fleet experience and issues,identify and prioritise problems, and defineand validate solutions. Airlines incompletely different regions of the worldcan therefore become aware of theexperience of each other and share thiscommon knowledge to the benefit of theirplanning and fleet operations. For Airbus,the benefits are an increased awareness offleet operational issues, the ability toprioritise problems and define solutionswith airlines and hence provide a betterand quicker service for customers.

Not all airlines are currently connected toFAIR-ISP and Airbus encourages allairlines to connect to FAIR-ISP andcontribute actively to identifying,evaluating, prioritising, and resolving thein-service problems that may impact theiroperations. FAIR-ISP is a tool defined byairlines, for airlines, and will beincreasingly successful with open, regularand constructive dialogue - to the benefitof all using it. Airbus looks forward tobuilding this working-together forum withcustomers.

Conclusion

How to get accessto FAIR-ISPFAIR-ISP is accessible onAirbusWorld. The pre-requisitesfor access are:1. Access to AirbusWorld and 2. Signature of the FAIR Specific

Terms & Conditions (STC).

The FAIR-ISP connection proce-dure is a two-step procedure:

STEP 1 OBTAIN READER/DRAFTER ACCESS

Every airline can apply for anunlimited number of reader/drafteraccounts managed by their ownairline User Entity Administrator(UEA). Contact your AirbusCustomer Support Director (CSD)to obtain a copy of the FAIR STC.

Once the STC has been signed,your airline UEA will be givenauthorization to open FAIR-ISP toyour organization. In case ofaccess problems, contact yourUEA.

STEP 2OBTAIN WRITER/VALIDATOR ACCESS

Writer/validator access is limitedto two senior managers per airlineper operated aircraft family and iscontrolled by the Airbus FAIRadministrator. The contact detailsof your airline writers/validatorsmust be provided to your CSD fortransmission to the Airbus FAIRadministrator. The Airbus FAIRadministrator will advise airlinewriters and their UEA as soon aswriter/validator connection isestablished, or if there are anyconnection problems.

CONTACT DETAILS

Denis TissiéDeputy Vice-President A330/A340 ProgrammeAirbus Customer ServicesTel: +33 (0)5 61 93 47 30Fax: +33 (0)5 61 30 00 [email protected]:FAIR [email protected]

Therefore, Airbus encourages con-nected users to contribute more,and in particular to voice theiropinion and share their experienceon existing FAIR ISPs, so that

Screening Committee decisionscan be made better and faster.Airbus also invites all operatorsthat have not yet joined the FAIR-ISP community to request theirconnection (see how to get accessto FAIR later) and nominates theirwriters/validators to post their con-tributions.

Leasing companies are not yet ableto consult the FAIR-ISP forum, butthis will come mid 2007. Airbussuppliers, who are key players inthe MISP resolution process, alsodo not have access to FAIR-ISPyet, but this will be consideredlater, when the FAIR-ISP processand tool are mature and robust.

Forum activity

The number of posts in the forumhas grown together with the number of connected operators. Atend April 2007, 160 ISPs in totalwere posted on the forum for thethree Airbus aircraft families:A300/A310, A320 and A330/A340. Of the 160 ISPs, 13 were acceptedas MISPs by the ScreeningCommittees.

Two MISPs have even gonethrough the solution selectionprocess (phase 2 of the FAIR-ISPprocess described earlier). Amongthe proposed solutions, the airlineshave either voted for their pre-ferred one and/or rejected the others. Based on this input, theScreening Committee was able toselect the final solutions to bedeveloped to address the MISPs.

45 items have been closed withScreening Committee approval.Most of them already had an exist-ing interim or final solution inplace, documented by Airbus.

Airbus strongly encourages opera-tors to participate actively in theFAIR-ISP discussion phases. Thiswill allow building robust filesquickly to speed and easeScreening Committee decisions forthe benefit of the entire fleet.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Dec 06 Jan 07 Feb 07 Mar 07 Apr 07

51

7480

91

65

50%55% 58% 60%

64%

A300/A310 A320 A330/A340 All Fleet coverage*

(*) Fleet coverage: percentage of aircraft operated by airlines connected to FAIR-ISP versus total fleet in-service


ST40

26

65 39

49 0100 39

8202852

078740

0601000

6 6 7 7 9 9 9 9 9 132129

3829 34 38

45 4964

8091

97

89

2

9

19

1713

146

11

1811

37

512 7

18

7

3

3

37

5

0

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40

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140

Mar2006 2007

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

Closed items

New items

Open ISPs

Open MISPs

FAIR-ISP connected airlines

FAIR-ISP new, open and closed items

August 1972First A300B roll-out of the assembly hall in Toulouse

THE FIRST AND THE LAST OF THE A300/A310 FAMILY

Early passenger aircraft havetaken on a second lease of life bybeing converted into freightersand the capability of the aircraftas a freighter is such that a largenumber of new-build freightershave been delivered during thelatter part of production. Perhapsthe most notable variant is theA300 SuperTransporter, known as the ‘Beluga’ that transports Airbus parts from site to site and is also used inother freight activities such as flying outsize paintings from France to Japan.

A total of 822 A300/A310 Family aircraft were built and currently almost 90 organizations either operate orown family aircraft. The service life of the A300/A310 Family is expected to extend to close to mid-

century, giving a life of over 70 years from roll-out to final retirement.

Naturally, Airbus is sad to see production of its first ‘star’ cease, but this is a normal evolution and aircraft from the family will still be in service for decades to come. Therefore, Airbus energies are

now focused on providing a level of support, service and customer satisfaction at least equal to thatof in-production Airbus aircraft. Support will be ensured to the aircraft family’s

operators until its end of life and then, finally, to ensure the environmentally friendly break-upof retired aircraft.

September 1972 saw the official ceremony of the debut of a new ‘star’in the aircraft world - the Airbus A300B, the first twin-aisle twinengined aircraft designed for short and medium range operations.The aircraft offered many advantages over comparable aircraft of theday, such as being quieter and more fuel efficient, having nearly dou-ble the passenger capacity and the ability to interline standard freightcontainers between long-haul and short-haul flights.These advantageswere recognized by the industry and led to steady sales and a numberof variants to meet market needs. The first aircraft were the B2 short-range and the B4 medium-range. These were followed by the A310 andthe A300-600, plus a number of variants of these aircraft.

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27 March 2007...and roll-out of the last of the Family.

J u s t h a p p e n e d

SPARES, SUPPLIERS &WARRANTY SYMPOSIUMBANGKOK, THAILAND12-14 MARCH 2007For the fourth time the eventlinking spares, supplier andwarranty services together generated an excellent mix ofparticipants from customers (53 participants) and suppliers(48 participants) and providedan ideal platform to build onexisting relationships and fur-ther discuss regional specifici-ties and service strategies.Airbus started by presenting theCustomer Services portfolio ofmodular support and services‘Air+ by Airbus’ and underlined thecontinuing efforts to improve,based on market and customerfeedback from the CustomerSatisfaction Improvement Pro-gramme, and spoke about the‘FIRST’ programme, preparingthe next 10 years’ vision. ThenAirbus presented the latest newsconcerning spares, supplier andwarranty services.

15TH PERFORMANCE AND OPER-ATIONS CONFERENCEPUERTO-VALLARTA, MEXICO23-27 APRIL 2007The 15th Performance & Oper-ations Conference representingthe greatest forum for Airbus’Flight Operations Support &Services activities. Attended by181 participants from 73 airlines,it provided flight crews, opera-tions specialists and performanceengineers with a unique opportu-nity to constructively exchangeviews and information and to

facilitate communication. It inc-luded some 100 presentationsspread in 12 different sessionscovering the whole scope ofFlight Operations activities(Operations, Performance, e-doc,EFB, all aircraft types issues,economics, services…). The airline participants unani-mously mentioned it was a realsuccess: ‘This type of confer-ence is absolutely essential’.

A320 FAMILY SYMPOSIUMBANGKOK, THAILAND07-11 MAY 2007Customers supported Airbusaspirations expressed at thesymposium, consisting of con-solidating the high level ofoperational reliability, enhanc-ing Airbus support and servicesand maximizing their aircraftavailability.

C o m i n g s o o n

A300/A310 FAMILY TECHNICALSYMPOSIUMTOULOUSE, FRANCE05-09 NOVEMBER 2007 Airbus Technical Symposiumsare held for each Airbus pro-gramme every two years withthe target audience of airlineengineering and maintenancemanagers. The next A300/A310event will focus on current technical and maintenance sub-jects as well as general customersupport processes. There will bea particular focus on the assur-ance of long-term support of thefleet with consideration that the last production aircraft will have been delivered during thesummer of 2007.

TECHNICAL DATA SUPPORT ANDSERVICES SYMPOSIUMTOULOUSE, FRANCE12-14 NOVEMBER 2007This fourth Technical DataSymposium will provide aunique opportunity for airlinetechnical data managers, main-tenance engineers and informa-tion technology specialists tolearn about the latest status ofour technical data products.Separate, but integrated productdemonstrations and sideshows,to complement the main ses-sions, will be available through-out to allow active participationand an exchange of views.Advance notification will bemade in the near future via ourcommunication channels andinvitations will be sent in thecoming months.

Customer Servicesevents

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Customer support centresTraining centresSpares centres / Regional warehousesResident Customer Support Managers (RCSM)

RCSM location CountryLouisville United States of AmericaLuanda AngolaLuton United KingdomMacau S.A.R. ChinaMadrid SpainManchester United KingdomManila PhilippinesMauritius MauritiusMemphis United States of AmericaMexico City MexicoMiami United States of AmericaMilan ItalyMinneapolis United States of AmericaMontreal CanadaMoscow RussiaMumbai IndiaNanchang ChinaNanjing ChinaNew York United States of AmericaNewcastle AustraliaNingbo ChinaNoumea New CaledoniaPalma de Mallorca SpainParis FranceParo BhutanPhoenix United States of AmericaPittsburgh United States of AmericaPrague Czech RepublicQuito EcuadorRome ItalySana’a YemenSan Francisco United States of AmericaSan Salvador El SalvadorSantiago ChileSao Paulo BrazilSeoul South KoreaShanghai ChinaSharjah United Arab EmiratesShenyang ChinaShenzhen ChinaSingapore SingaporeSydney AustraliaTaipei TaiwanTashkent UzbekistanTehran IranTel Aviv IsraelTokyo JapanToluca MexicoToulouse FranceTripoli LibyaTulsa United States of AmericaTunis TunisiaVarna BulgariaVienna AustriaWashington United States of AmericaWuhan ChinaXi'an ChinaZurich Switzerland

RCSM location CountryAbu Dhabi United Arab EmiratesAlgiers AlgeriaAlmaty KazakhstanAl-Manamah BahrainAmman JordanAmsterdam NetherlandsAthens GreeceAuckland New ZealandBaku AzerbaijanBandar Seri Begawan BruneiBangalore IndiaBangkok ThailandBarcelona SpainBeijing ChinaBeirut LebanonBerlin GermanyBrussels BelgiumBucuresti RomaniaBuenos Aires ArgentinaCairo EgyptCaracas VenezuelaCasablanca MoroccoChangchun ChinaCharlotte United States of AmericaChengdu ChinaCologne GermanyColombo Sri LankaColumbus United States of AmericaCopenhagen DenmarkDamascus SyriaDelhi IndiaDenver United States of AmericaDetroit United States of AmericaDhaka BangladeshDoha QatarDubai United Arab EmiratesDublin IrelandDusseldorf GermanyFort Lauderdale United States of AmericaFrankfurt GermanyGuangzhou ChinaHaikou ChinaHangzhou ChinaHanoi VietnamHelsinki FinlandHong Kong S.A.R. ChinaIndianapolis United States of AmericaIstanbul TurkeyJakarta IndonesiaJohannesburg South AfricaKarachi PakistanKita-Kyushu JapanKuala Lumpur MalaysiaKuwait City KuwaitLanzhou ChinaLarnaca CyprusLisbon PortugalLondon United Kingdom

WORLDWIDEJean-Daniel LeroyVP Customer SupportTel: +33 (0)5 61 93 35 04Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 41 01

USA/CANADAThorsten Eckhoff Senior Director Customer SupportTel: +1 (703) 834 3506Fax: +1 (703) 834 3463

CHINAPeter TiarksSenior Director Customer SupportTel: +86 10 804 86161 Ext 5040Fax: +86 10 804 86162 / 63

RESIDENT CUSTOMER SUPPORT ADMINISTRATIONJean-Philippe GuillonDirector Resident Customer Support AdministrationTel: +33 (0)5 61 93 31 02 Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 49 64

TECHNICAL, SPARES, TRAININGAirbus has its main spares centre in Hamburg,and regional warehouses in Frankfurt, Washington D.C., Beijing and Singapore.

Airbus operates 24 hours a day every day.

Airbus Technical AOG Centre (AIRTAC)Tel: +33 (0)5 61 93 34 00Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 35 [email protected]

Spares AOGs in North America should beaddressed to: Tel: +1 (703) 729 9000Fax: +1 (703) 729 4373

Spares AOGs outside North America should be addressed to:Tel: +49 (40) 50 76 4001Fax: +49 (40) 50 76 [email protected]

Spares related HMV issues outside North America should be addressed to:Tel: +49 (40) 50 76 4003Fax: +49 (40) 50 76 [email protected]

Airbus Training Centre Toulouse, FranceTel: +33 (0)5 61 93 33 33Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 20 94

Airbus Maintenance Training Centre Hamburg,GermanyTel: +49 40 743 88288 Fax: +49 40 743 88588

Airbus Training subsidiariesMiami, USA - FloridaTel: +1 (305) 871 36 55Fax:+1 (305) 871 46 49Beijing, ChinaTel: +86 10 80 48 63 40 Fax:+86 10 80 48 65 76

CUSTOMER SUPPORT AROUND THE CLOCK... AROUND THE WORLD

july 2007 flight airworthiness support technology - airbus€¦ · airbus, its logo, a300, a310,...

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