managing aircraft interior costs_ver2.5

Minimising the Cost ofAircraft Interior MaintenanceTAP Case Analysis

Ana Ricardo, Cabin Interiors & Painting EngineerNuno Trigo Miranda, Avionics Engineer

ScopeWhere is most money spent when it comes to routine interior maintenance?

Cost driven areas

• Aircraft seats restoration and cleaning; (leather vs. fabric)

• Interior restoration and cleaning. (stowage bins, partitions, carpet & floor coverings)

Cabin Furnishings BFE/SFE

• In-flight Entertainment systems;

• Galley systems.

Non-exhaustive

ScopeWhere is most money spent when it comes to routine interior maintenance?

Cost driven areas

Cabin Furnishings BFE/SFE

• In-flight Entertainment systems;

• Galley systems.

Non-exhaustive

This presentation identifies the driving options of TAP seat cover selection for the A320 family, and discusses, from TAP experience with Lie Flat Seat program, improvements in terms of design, reparability and durability to control seat routine maintenance costs.

In the end some general considerations are given on how can aircraft maintenance programs be refined to ensure minimum cabin routine maintenance costs.

Objective

• Aircraft seats restoration and cleaning; (leather vs. fabric)

• Interior restoration and cleaning. (stowage bins, partitions, carpet & floor coverings)

Minimising the cost of aircraft interior maintenance through material selection A320fam Seat Cover Selection – Case Analysis

To what extent is it possible to reduce aircraft interior maintenance costs as a result of improvements in terms of design, reparability and durability? A310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C – Case Analysis

To what extent can aircraft maintenance programs be optimized to ensure that routine maintenance is accomplished at an optimal frequency without increasing non-routine maintenance?

Agenda

Minimising the cost of aircraft interior maintenance through material selectionA320fam Seat Cover Selection – Case Analysis

Acquisition Cost

Maintenance Cost

Analysis and Recommendations

Methodology

Acquisition CostA320fam Seat Cover Selection

A320FAMShort haul fleet

Objectives/Constrains: • Passenger Comfort• Product differentiation• Cabin appearance• Reduced maintenance costs

Acquisition Cost (Leather 33,5€/m2)

A319 16 850 28.475 9.737 38.212 132 611.396A320 8 1.000 33.500 11.508 45.008 156 360.061A321 3 1.250 41.875 14.311 56.186 194 168.557

1.140.014

MxH Cost (€)

Total Cost (€)

No. of Seats

Total Cost (€)

A/C Model Qty A/C

Leather Qty (m2)

Leather Cost (€)

When this analysis was conducted TAP already had 9 A/Cs with fabric covered seats. Adding to the retrofit cost, genuine leather initial cost was higher than fabric…

Maintenance CostA320fam Seat Cover Selection

Maintenance Costs

Even though the maintenance costs over the last five years are increasing, the option for leather seats still remains competitive.

TAP experience confirms that air conditioning, temperature fluctuations and impurities on-board accelerate fatigue of the leather. Special attention needs to be draw to cleaning procedures and periodicity.

In 1998 TAP based its maintenance cost analysis on Swissair and Lufthansa experiences which indicated an average durability of 9 years for genuine leather, 3 times superior to TAP fabric experience.

Also, with genuine leather seats there were no removals for dry cleaning. All cleanings were done in situ, thus reducing the routine maintenance costs.

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Analysis and RecommendationsA320fam Seat Cover Selection

TAP experience with the A320fam seats confirms that one the most relevant routine interior maintenance costs can be highly reduced through proper material selection.

• For the short haul fleet, there is still a wide spread believe that genuine leather is more appealing and prestigious than fabric

• The genuine leather initial cost is higher than fabric but with no unscheduled removals, no dry cleaning procedures and higher durability, the leather becomes a better option

Our ExperienceLeather vs. Fabric MPM

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• Over the first 5 years, there was an increase in maintenance costs, however in general the leather does not show signs of degradation, and cabin appearance remains as expected

• The leather still evokes a positive emotional response from the customers

• The complete replacement of all the seat covers should be accomplished every 9 years, coinciding with a ‘C’ check inspection

• Covers in good conditions may be re-used

TAP A320fam Cabin viewsA320fam Seat Cover Selection

Business Class

Economic Class

Agenda


To what extent is it possible to reduce aircraft interior maintenance costs as a result of improvements in terms of design, reparability and durability?A310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C – Case Analysis


To what extent is it possible to reduce aircraft interior maintenance costs as a result of improvements in terms of design, reparability and durability?

TAP long haul Lie Flat Seat project was developed in a period of economic recession and had therefore strong budgetary constrains. These constrains prevented TAP from including some

experience items that could have helped reducing the maintenance costs. The timing for project launch was also critical.

Design

ROUTINE COST ROUTINE COST

REDUCTIONREDUCTION

Reparability Durability

A340/A310Long haul fleet

Objectives/Constrains: • Passenger Comfort• First movers, reinforcing image • Strong Budget Constrains• Best Quality/Cost ratio

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Routine cost reduction through DESIGNA310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C

These were some of the items that should have been included in TAP project from the scratch but due to time and budget constrains only with the seats in operation was possible to correct

them. Units need to be designed to work in the environment that they are intended for!

Positionof user interface parts

Environmentsurrounding the seat

Seat Control Panel is placed right were passengers hold their glasses. Drinks are spilled over the control board corroding the PCB and the seat becomes unserviceable. A shop routine task had to be implemented to isolate the board and the switch.

There is a big gap between the shell and the backrest which allows several objects to get in, thus jamming the seat. TAP proposed a bigger cushion foam, but even

with this modification there are objects that get in. TAP created a routine maintenance task that checks

operation between each flight.

Routine cost reduction through REPARABILITYA310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C

Operation and surroundingsThe original intent of a seat box was underneath the seat, and the seat box is not designed for that location, as we confirm from the modifications we have been accomplishing regarding the use of silicone for dust and moisture isolation.

Example of a cable in

stallatio

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In general terms there is a good potential for routine maintenance cost reduction, by facilitating the access to units. Some tasks involve on-wing procedures, and others involve scheduled removals of units for shop

disassembly and cleaning. For the most part, these programs are recommended by the OEM, and are not optional. These programs are expensive in that they consume labour resources.

Location of components under the seat assemblyIFE and Seat system are subject to damage from being kicked and blocked by passenger luggage, and experience heat-related failures due to the dust and dirt to which they are exposed.

Reducing the qty of components required for both IFE & ISPSThe access and reparability of these systems is seriously compromised with the increase electronics under the seat.

Routine cost reduction through DURABILITYA310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C

After 6months the Cabin

Appearance is not acceptable!Synthetic leather

was not as durable and resistant as

genuine leather in A320fam.

Destructive Tests to the leather confirmed that it

was weaker than expected, which meant higher maintenance costs.

Moreover, the replacement of the shell cover has to be

done off board.

Routine cost reduction through DURABILITYA310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C

Proposed solutionon-board shell cover replacement

Considerations should have been made with regards to the root structure, passenger profile, environments such as dust conditions and temperature and aircraft utilizations.

These factors result in fatigue of the leather, and the ageing process is thereby accelerated, resulting in the deterioration of cabin appearance, as seen in the previous slide.

In order to retain cabin value and delay the leather degradation, several studies are being conducted to determine an efficient cleaning and care procedure for these leather seats on-board aircraft.

Seats condition and cabin appearance need to be under constant observation, and it needs additional manpower, hence a cost increase.

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Material selectioncomments

TAP A340 Cabin viewsA310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C – Case Analysis

Lie Flat Seat

Business Class

Agenda


To what extent is it possible to reduce aircraft interior maintenance costs as a result of improvements in terms of design, reparability and durability? A310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C – Case Analysis


TAP considerationsA/C maintenance programs and routine costs

TAP has been reviewing the scheduled maintenance tasks to its cabin interior equipment

specially galley equipment. The biggest offenders are LRUs that have internal cooling fans.

The fans direct cabin air through the unit, and the unit acts as a filter retaining the dust and

fibers. Eventually, either the fan stalls out, or the air passages become totally blocked. In any

case, the unit fails from thermal effects, unless it is periodically removed for cleaning. These

programs are expensive in that they consume labor resources.

At TAP we agree that scheduled maintenance tasks or preventative maintenance contribute

significantly to the reliability of the systems. These tasks and their intervals however must be

customized to the operating environment to the aircraft. Considerations should be made with

regards to the root structure, passenger profile, environments such as dust conditions,

aircraft utilizations, aircraft configurations and other factors. As result we have adapted some

of the requirements of the OEMs.

A320FAMShort haul fleet

A340/A310Long haul fleet

Minimising the Cost ofAircraft Interior MaintenanceTAP Case Analysis

Ana Ricardo, Cabin Interiors & Painting EngineerNuno Trigo Miranda, Avionics Engineer

managing aircraft interior costs_ver2.5

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