Emirates had a great 2010. How does it plan to invest in maintenance and engineering moving forward?
Lachlan: Emirates’ fleet growth is very exciting. It’s going to be very challenging for everyone, not only engineering. What we have done to try to cope with the fleet growth is: we run our five-year rolling maintenance planning needs and resource requirements based on the fleet growth, and that allows us to plan for success in supporting the needs of the business.
In addition, it’s not just about resources, but it’s about continually reviewing our internal processes and working practices so that we can drive further efficiencies by removing non-added value, which allows us to enhance the support that we provide. We closely work with all of the manufacturers and suppliers in ongoing reliability improvements for the operation. It is about partnerships; it is about working collectively in order to deliver the expectations of the company and the customer.
Speaking of internal capabilities, what is your engine maintenance strategy?
Lachlan: We have capability up to module replacement, and engine maintenance is something that we are regularly reviewing. Obviously with the current growth we are continually looking not just at engine maintenance but any activities that we may not necessarily have the capability for in house; we actively review these on a regular basis to see whether there are opportunities for us to benefit. It’s not purely driven by cost, but it’s driven by the need to support the business.
For example, about three years ago, we got our engine test cell which has capability up to 150,000 lb. thrust. It was something we felt at that time was necessary and needed, and from which we could benefit significantly.
We already do subcontract; we have agreements with the major manufacturers—Rolls-Royce, GE, CFM. But we have also taken some work in on our own fleet, in our current facility. We continually review to see where we can bring added value, and that is the strategy we will continue to apply. We have a very active maintenance program. We have seven Airbus A380-capable bays and a paint facility. All seven bays are full. We dedicate five to C checks, retrofits, reconfiguration and IFE upgrades. All five bays are active and will be for some time. We dedicate two bays to A checks and casualty work.
We are in the process of reviewing the need to enhance our existing facility. Probably by 2013-14, we may be in a position that we need additional capability.
We do carry out line maintenance, certain component support, A checks, wheels and brakes, etc., for a number of customers. We are quite active in line maintenance, both in Dubai and in a number of stations where Emirates has a presence.
Can you tell me more about your new aircraft appearance center?
Lachlan: Aircraft appearance is our paint facility. It’s state-of-the-art, very similar to the A380 paint facility that Airbus has. We commissioned it in the latter part of last year, and we have already painted four of the Emirates fleet. We are just installing wing docking in the facility; we had that delivered at the end of last year. We have six aerial-mounted platforms that we use for painting. It’s a hugely expensive facility, and it’s obviously environmentally controlled. We have to maintain constant temperatures on the inside and be conscious of the temperatures in Dubai. Painting is a very delicate activity, so it has to be a very well-controlled facility.
What are your next cabin projects?
Lachlan: We see cabin as a customer differentiator. One of the issues and challenges we have as a company is that while we have a relatively young fleet, we have a number of aircraft that do not necessarily have the latest and greatest [cabin amenities]. We did recognize that we had some older aircraft that did not necessarily have the same specifications. That’s why we entered into refresh programs on our Airbus A330 and A340-300 fleets. At the same time as refreshing that fleet interior, we are going through a refresh and reconfiguration on a number of our Boeing 777 aircraft. We also decided at that time to enhance and upgrade the IFE on our A330s and A340-300s to [Panasonic’s] System 3000. We have been quite active; that’s contributing to the five lanes of heavy maintenance.
What are your strategies for supporting aircraft in places far from Dubai?
Lachlan: I think at the moment we have 107 destinations that we operate. We have a presence in a number of outlying regions, from New Zealand to the U.K. to Africa. We have three options open to us: we can have our own presence, which we have at about 30 stations; we can have a third-party supplier; or, if it’s on acceptable routes, we will put our own flight engineers onboard. Again, it’s not based purely on cost; it’s based on ensuring that we can deliver what is necessary in order to maintain the support of the business and what the customer demands.
What major challenges have arisen in initializing your A380 support plan?
Lachlan: We have now operated the Airbus A380 for just over two years. We just completed a fourth A380 C check, so we’ve already had four through on 1-Cs. Our familiarity with the aircraft is growing continuously. As with any new aircraft, you do have issues that arise. It is large; if it has a problem, it impacts a huge number of people. It is not easy with small numbers in the fleet. It is Emirates’ plan to have flexibility and the ability to recover quickly. With 15, we are now the largest operator, so we have a bit more flexibility [than other current operators].
We engaged ourselves in an extensive training program before the aircraft took delivery. We trialed the A380 in our docking prior to entering service, to ensure that our dock could support it before we went into C checks. This was very helpful in identifying a few design changes we wanted to do on the dock, which we were fortunate to be able to do before we took delivery.
Looking ahead to scale up in number, what preparations are you making?
Lachlan: We have another 75 that are going to come, [so in total] we’re going to have a 90-aircraft fleet of the A380s. The A380, we do give it a huge amount of attention. However, we can’t and we will not be complacent on the other fleets. We operate Airbus A330s and A340-300s and Boeing 777s that we have to pay attention to. We are the largest operator of the 777; we have all six models that we operate, including the freighter. We have to ensure that we maintain and support all fleets that we serve, and we’re very fortunate that we do have the skilled resources that we need to be successful in the market.
Can you talk more about the training programs you have in place?
Lachlan: Two years ago, the industry was very buoyant, before we had the economic difficulties. At that time, there were limited external resources. We have always operated with organic development and growth, and we felt that that was something we needed to do more extensively for the future. But in addition to that, we have the Dubai and UAE markets, and we are active in ongoing global recruitment drives. Rather than having to go out to the market at the time we need it, we do it in advance and set up pools.
Significant work already is in place to organically train existing and new employees that will support what we need in the future. We can’t afford to be complacent. Aircraft maintenance and engineering is not a discipline that is just supported by a one-off training program and then forgotten. It is a continuous process. Technology innovation is forever advancing, and we see that in all aircraft systems and modifications that take place.
This article appears in Overhaul & Maintenance's February 2011 issue.
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