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Minimising the Cost ofAircraft Interior MaintenanceTAP Case Analysis
Ana Ricardo, Cabin Interiors & Painting EngineerNuno Trigo Miranda, Avionics Engineer
Page 2
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
Page 3
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)
Page 4
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
Page 5
Minimising the cost of aircraft interior maintenance through material selectionA320fam Seat Cover Selection – Case Analysis
Acquisition Cost
Maintenance Cost
Analysis and Recommendations
Methodology
Page 6
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…
Page 7
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
1 2 3
• 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
Page 10
Agenda
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?
Page 11
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
?
Page 12
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.
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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
n
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.
Page 14
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.
Page 15
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
Page 16
TAP A340 Cabin viewsA310/A340 Lie Flat Seats in B/C – Case Analysis
Lie Flat Seat
Business Class
Page 17
Agenda
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?
Page 18
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