Maintaining Momentum

IAN GOOLD considers industry experience with the Airbus A380 as Singapore Airlines conducts the first two-year maintenance check, Emirates follows and Qantas marks 12 months of service with the quad-aisle quad-jet.
Time Aerospace thumbnail

 

Since Singapore Airlines (SIA) launched Airbus A380 commercial services in October two years ago, more than two million travellers have sampled the very-large aircraft (VLA). By mid-2009, the 17 machines being flown by SIA, Dubai-based Emirates Airline and Australia’s Qantas Airways, had logged almost 60,000 flight-hours (FH) during 6,000 flights.

A380s have been averaging slightly more than one flight a day; Airbus having reported average daily utilisation of 13.2FH/day earlier this year. The aircraft is currently being used on flights between and among 12 airports: Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto.

According to the manufacturer, the A380 was given “the highest maintenance inspection intervals ever for a new aircraft” when it entered service.

A380 maintenance intervals have been promulgated using the most appropriate operations parameter (FH, flight cycles, or calendar age), with no prescribed package of conventional ‘letter’ checks.

Assuming standard commercial operations involving block-check maintenance, the A380 interval for typical ‘C-check’ equivalent inspections is two years (or 6,000FH), with structural checks performed every six years. More-frequent ‘A-check’ tasks are conducted at 1,000FH intervals.

The value of this philosophy and the industry Maintenance Review Board (MRB) report procedure, according to Airbus, is to reduce to two the number of maintenance-shop visits before the first airframe structural check. This compares with three such visits before the first intermediate layover on many other types. Following operators’ reports, the manufacturer has identified improvements to the maintenance-planning document (MPD).

  Till date, more than 35 A-checks had been carried out on SIA’s fleet by SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC). In the early days of A380 operations, SIAEC had to change “a significant number of big and heavy components”, which led it to improve ways of using special hoists and tools for such operations.

SIAEC’s maintenance facility in Singapore, one of the largest in the world, offers world-class standards of MRO services to its large client base of more than 80 international airlines and aerospace equipment manufacturers. The company also has 24 joint ventures (JVs) and fully owned subsidiaries in nine countries. It was the first MRO provider in the world to maintain the A380. Through its global cluster of line maintenance stations, SIAEC has supported the A380 entry into service at airports like Narita, Sydney, Hong Kong, Paris, London and soon, Melbourne. This includes troubleshooting and conducting component changes at the airports.

The first A380 ‘C’ check took place in Singapore from September 7-20 with the next due from November 2-15. Another is planned for 2010.

For the ‘C’ checks, access has been a challenge considering the height of most parts and areas.. The Company overcame this by investing in new equipments to provide the reach to access the aircraft during maintenance. Keeping the aircraft in a cool condition posed a challenge too as the electronic items in the aircraft are  very sensitive to heat. Throughout the check, coordination was a critical factor given that the company has many maintenance teams working on the aircraft at the same time.. Now, though, with more than two years’ experience and enjoying a close collaboration with Airbus, SIAEC feels it is well placed to offer A380 maintenance to all airlines and operators around the world.

Like the current operators, Air France-KLM and Germany’s Lufthansa – the next two airlines to receive the A380 – will use in-house engineering and maintenance departments: Air France Industries (AFI) and Lufthansa Technik (LHT), respectively.

The A380 MPD offers “significant savings” in labour time and costs “compared to aircraft with similar operations”, according to Airbus. Just two years into service with a limited number of aircraft, SIA believes it is “still too early to determine” such performance, but experience is growing quickly among the three operators as more aircraft are delivered.

Qantas operations group executive Lyell Strambi said A380 ‘A’ checks had been completed successfully with no significant issues. The airline has been working with Airbus to streamline its maintenance procedures, techniques, and tooling requirements.

SIA and Qantas both base their maintenance schedule on Airbus and regulator recommendations. Meanwhile, AFI has chosen to set up its programme based upon MPD recommendations, MRB requirements, and its own experience. LHT said it would also apply experience to “round off” MPD requirements.

Local Arab carrier Emirates has been very diplomatic in its public comments regarding early reliability issues with the VLA. A year ago, it experienced an electrical “glitch”, said to have been caused by a “foreign object”, in an avionics-bay. The problem grounded its first A380 for a week after it had otherwise been achieving a high despatch reliability.

Emirates praised the manufacturer for quickly overcoming its problem, calling Airbus’s response efforts “outstanding, with no expense or resource spared”. The airline compiled a comprehensive report of its introductory experience with the A380, detailing for the manufacturer heat-damaged wiring, engine problems, and various other occurrences. Publicly, it was more euphemistic: “Technical issues are expected with new aircraft, particularly one that uses many new technologies. Our confidence in the A380 remains unchanged – it is an excellent aircraft.”

Viewing all three operators, Airbus programmes executive vice-president Tom Williams has acknowledged the aircraft’s teething problems as: “normal for an aircraft of this complexity and sophistication”.

According to SIA, each operator cites different experiences but technical problems have been ironed out quickly. For Qantas, Airbus is recognised for having worked hard to deliver a mature product.

Qantas experienced problems with fuel-level indication on two A380s, as well as nose-wheel steering trouble on one aircraft. Each situation was resolved quickly. It rates its A380 operational experience as “exceptional”, equating it with that of the Boeing 747-400’s entry into service 20 years ago. “Expectations have been more than met. A small number of technical issues impacted operations for a short period, but generally we have been happy with reliability.”

Across the three operators, the manufacturer is keen to accentuate the positive, highlighting its long-haul performance particularly: “Qantas is operating the 6,000+nm Melbourne-Los Angeles route with the full 450-passenger capacity and cargo without any range problems,” said A380 product-marketing manager Julien Manhes. 

A380 systems, including avionics, engines, and in-flight entertainment, function “generally well, with no major anomalies”, according to Airbus. The system that has provided the greatest concern is the VLA’s body wheel steering. This has frequently required resets by the crew and, most troubling for its propensity to trigger a negative technical despatch reliability score, has led to aircraft having to return to the gate for deactivation.

For SIA, the A380’s Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines have met specification, although again the airline said it was too early to comment on fuel-burn relative to performance guarantees. Ahead of Air France deliveries, AFI has been meeting regularly with the airframe and engine manufacturers to discuss performance and behaviour of the A380 and GP7200 powerplant.

The GE/P&W partnership has appointed Air France-KLM subsidiary and engine-parts repair specialist CRMA to be the primary repair agency for the engine’s combustion chambers and turbine centre frames. AFI is to establish GP7200 module expertise, with the aim to set up an initial capacity of 20 engines/year.

The GP7200 engine partnership has won a $3 billion order to provide fleet management covering maintenance, repair, and overhaul of the 250 GP7200s Emirates has ordered.

For SIA, A380 cabin systems have been reliable, with initial teething problems resolved with Airbus and suppliers. Qantas reports a “very positive” experience in A380 cabin-systems capability, reliability, and quality; it specifically cites the Panasonic IFE system. Air France will fit the Thales TopSeries I5000 IFE system.

SIA A380s are said to have performed “extremely well”, with service-entry having been “one of the smoothest of any new aircraft type”. SIAEC said it has provided A380 aircraft certification, maintenance release, and technical ramp handling services at Singapore Changi Airport with high dispatch reliability.

After SIA had taken the first customer aircraft in 2007, last year saw 12 A380 deliveries, with Emirates beginning operations in August 2008 and Qantas two months later. Five further A380s had been handed over by the end of August this year.

Earlier in 2009, Emirates disclosed it would reduce the rate of deliveries around the end of 2010. “We’re looking at slowing things from late 2010/early 2011,” president Tim Clark reported at the Paris Air Show in June.

Subsequently, the airline has said it will receive six A380s next year and another five in 2011. Seven are slated for delivery during the current April 2009-March 2010 business year. In 2012, 12 A380s are scheduled to join the fleet, followed by 11 in the following year. The remainder of the 58-strong order is programmed for 2014-16 delivery.

The three current operators and at least the next three customer airlines are involved in revised production plans announced by Airbus earlier this year: 14 examples (rather than 18 previously slated) would be delivered this year and “more than 20” in 2010. In August, Qantas took its fourth aircraft and was expecting two more as Arabian Aerospace was going to press. Delivery of aircraft Nos 7-10, from a total order for 20, has been deferred by Qantas for up to 12 months because of the current recession. Remaining 2009 deliveries are understood to include the tenth for SIA, Emirates' sixth and seventh A380s, and the first two (or possibly three) for Air France.

The schedule for next year appears to cover more aircraft for these operators and initial machines for further A380 customers: SIA four, Emirates six, Qantas two, Air France three, and Lufthansa five. Korean Air could get its first example and the flight-test A380 earmarked to be the first for private operation is expected to be delivered to a completion centre.