____________________________________________

Special Topic Paper on

HOW CAN AIRPLANE OPERATORS
REDUCE MAINTENANCE COST?
____________________________________________

Prepared by
Imran Asif
for Ph.D. (Aviation) in Operations at ERAU

21 August, 2013

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“How Can Airplane Operators Reduce Maintenance Cost” – by Imran Asif imran.asif@gmail.com http://bd.linkedin.com/in/imranasif/
Airplane operators are in the business of flying airplanes and not in the business of maintaining
them. So why airplane maintenance?

An airplane operator can generate profits only if it has airplanes in the air generating revenue.
To achieve that end the operator must have an airplane ready and fit to fly when needed. This
fitness for the flight is called availability, often also known as uptime, meaning that the airplane
is either flying (in active use) or on standby (loading, being services, or awaiting dispatch). The
alternative is not having an airplane ready and fit to fly; this is referred to as downtime,
meaning that the airplane is either undergoing active repair or is waiting for parts, the
availability of skilled personnel, or is being held up for want of necessary paperwork. Therefore,
we conclude that the ultimate objective of any operator is to have airplanes ready and available
to fly when needed.

Airplane availability depends on how often failures occur, which is a measure of airplane
reliability, and the time it takes to fix it, which is a measure of maintainability. Airplane
reliability and maintainability should be of major concern to operators, because airplane
systems, components, and structure reliability all deteriorate with time because of wear and
tear as well as because of harmful environmental impacts. Airplane operators, therefore,
perform maintenance activities or outsource this work in order to restore airplane reliability to
desirable levels, and to maintain compliance with regulatory constraints designed to ensure
safety.

Airplane maintenance can be broken down into airframe maintenance and engine
maintenance. Airframe maintenance is accomplished on airplane and off airplane. On-airplane
airframe maintenance include all work performed on airplane during routine (scheduled) and
nonroutine (unscheduled) maintenance work at the maintenance base (hangar facility). This
work also includes all on-airplane maintenance accomplished at the flight line and turnaround
stations. Off-airframe maintenance includes all work accomplished at the operator’s overhaul
bases and support shops (see Figure 1).

Engine maintenance is also accomplished on-airplane and off-airplane. On-airplane engine

maintenance work includes all periodic inspections, servicing, engine trim, engine removal and
installation. This is also referred to as level I maintenance. Off-airplane engine maintenance, on
the other hand, includes all level II and level III maintenance (see Figure 2).

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 AIRFRAME MAINTENANCE

ON-AIRPLANE OFF-AIRPLANE

AIRPLANE MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL /

MANDATORY DISCRETIONARY
SUPPORT COMPONENT ELECTRONIC APU SHOP
(Tasks) (Tasks)
SHOPS SHOP SHOP

TRANSIT & SB TO IMPROVE SHEET METAL HYDRAULICS ELECTRICAL

DAILY COST, SHOP SHOP COMPONENT
APPEARANCE, SHOP
ETC.
SCHEDULED MACHINE SHOP PNEUMATIC
CHECKS SHOP INSTRUMENT
A, B, C, & SI COMPONENT SHOP
REMOVAL FOR BRAKES /
SAMPLING & WHEELS & TIRE
LANDING GEAR
CONVENIENCE SHOP RADIO SHOP
CMR & AD’s SHOP

CLEANING / INTERIOR SHOP AUTOMATIC

HT COMPONENT FUEL SHOP
TOUCHUP TESTING
CHANGE
PAINT SHOP
NON-
“MEL” ITEMS
AIRWORTHY
RELATED TOOL ROOM
REPAIRS
OPERATOR
E/O’s
INTERIOR
REFURBISHING,
MFG SPECIAL SEATS,
INSPECTION CARPETING,
PANELLING,
GALLEYS,
LAVATORIES,
CARGO

A/C PAINTING

Figure 1 Airframe Maintenance Tasks

ENGINE
MAINTENANCE

ON-AIRPLANE OFF-AIRPLANE

PERIODIC INSPECTION,
SERVICING, ENGINE TRIM,
ENGINE REMOVAL &
QUICK ENGINE CHANGE (QEC) BASIC ENGINE
REPLACEMENT
(Level I) (Level II & III)
(Level I)

COMPLETE ENGINE
HOT SECTION INSPECTION EHM, MODULE REPLACEMENT
TEARDOWN, PARTS
(HSI) & REBUILD
OVERHAUL & REPAIR
(Level II) (Level II)
(Level III)

REPLACEMENT OF INLET &

COMPLETE PARTS REPAIR
HOT SECTION MODULE
(Level III)
(Level II)

REPLACEMENT OF REAR
COMPONENTS & REMAINING LIMITED PARTS REPAIR
MODULES (Level III)
(Level II)

EXTENSIVE MODULE ACCESSORY COMPONENT

DISASSEMBLY & REBUILD REPAIR
(Level II) (Level III)

Figure 2 Engine Maintenance Tasks

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Airplane Maintenance Costs
Airplane maintenance and engineering can cost between 15 percent to 25 percent of an
airline’s total direct operating costs. This is a major expense on an airline’s balance sheet, and
controlling maintenance costs is naturally of significant concern to most operators.

Total airplane maintenance costs include the cost of airframe maintenance, engine
maintenance, and the overhead associated with running the maintenance operations. Airplane
maintenance cost can vary among airlines depending on the model of airplane, the air carrier’s
cost accounting system, the route structure flown, and so forth.

The Maintenance Unit Cost

Airplane maintenance unit cost is expressed and measured in many different ways, such as
cost per flight hour, cost per block hour, cost per trip, and annual cost for a specific situation. A
specific situation could be the annual cost of manufacturing spare parts or work done for
outsiders, such as a contract or insurance warranty. But the most common measurement used
by the airlines is the cost per flight hour.

An airline’s maintenance base (hangar) is the factory where the airline produces its product
(flight hours). For instance, flight hours are produced when a maintenance organization
completes a service check, such as a C check. (Maintenance requirements developed by the
airplane manufacturer are divided into work packages known as blocks containing all tasks and
work items to be accomplished within specified aircraft operating time periods or calendar
times. Examples of such blocks are the A check, B check, C check, and D check.) The cost of the
resources expended to complete the C check is equal to the sum of the cost of labor, materials,
and the facilities/equipment used (facility/equipment cost pro-rated throughout the life of the
airplane). See Figure 3.

Labor Costs ($) Hangar

Material Costs ($) “C” check completed and

produced (3,000 flight hours)

Facility Costs ($)

Figure 3 Flight Hours Are the Product of the Airline’s Maintenance Activities, Facility, and Equipment.

If the interval between C checks is 3,000 flight hours, and the check is completed, this means
that the airline has produced 3,000 flight hours ready for sale to the public. For an airline’s
maintenance department, the unit cost of producing one flight hour is the sum of the costs of
labor, materials, and facilities (pro-rated) used for completing the check divided by the check
interval, which in this case is 3,000 flight hours.

Costs of Labor + Costs of Material + Cost of Facility (Pro-rated)

______________________________________________________

3,000 flight hours

= $/Flight Hour

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For airline baseline maintenance cost projections and analysis, airplane manufacturers use
labor man hours and material cost only on both a flight hour and a cycle basis (one “cycle” is
one takeoff and one landing). The baseline unit cost is used for making budget projections,
doing route studies, planning fleet expansion, and arranging for equipment replacement.

Reducing Maintenance Costs

Reducing airplane maintenance costs is a joint responsibility of the airplane operator, the
manufacturer, and the suppliers. Manufacturers and suppliers are responsible for providing a
reliable and “maintainable” airplane, whereas airplane operators are responsible for providing a
maintenance program that meets its unique operational, technical, and commercial
requirements. Such programs should also provide efficient and effective maintenance methods
and practices.

To rationalize and to ensure that airplane maintenance costs remain at a manageable level,
airlines and airplane operators are being forced to critically reassess maintenance practices,
policies, management decisions, future investment needs, existing maintenance facilities, and
so forth. There are three significant cost elements that make up airplane and engine
maintenance costs:

 indirect labor (overhead),

 direct labor, and
 materials (the cost of purchasing, storing, handling, and insuring materials).

Indirect labor costs, also referred to as maintenance overhead (burden), consist of those costs
incurred to support maintenance operations. Indirect labor costs include:

 the salaries of administrative/supervisory staff, engineers/technical staff, and support staff

dedicated to the management of spare parts;
 the non-productive (on-the-job) time of employees who are directly involved in performing
maintenance on the aircraft;
 vacation, sick leave, and employee benefits (social cost) of all maintenance staff; and
 utilities, communications, rentals, shop supplies, and so forth.

Direct maintenance costs include the cost of direct labor and materials required to accomplish
maintenance activities, which include:

 all routine (scheduled) and non-routine (unscheduled) maintenance work on and off the
airplane;
 productive time of supervisors, leads inspectors, and other labor directly involved in
maintaining the airplane; and
 the costs of stripping/painting, cleaning, and refurbishing aircraft.

The direct maintenance cost is affected by the airplane type, its range, and the air carrier’s
flights schedule. An approximate breakdown of the direct maintenance cost (DMC) for a short-
haul, transport category airplane is shown in Figure 4.

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 13%
Line
Maintenance
27%
7% Components
A and C Repair/Overhaul
(On Airplane)

Checks
Hangar Maintenance

13%
D
Checks

40%
Power Plant
Overhaul

Figure 4 An Approximate Breakdown of Direct Maintenance Cost

Maintenance Cost Drivers

The three significant cost elements of airframe and engine maintenance are indirect labor,
direct labor, and materials. Following are the factors that influence each of these elements.

Indirect labor (“Overhead”)

 Scale, measured as the man-hour capacity available per year for the fleet. It is considered to
be the second most influential cost driver after labor rate per chargeable man-hour in
airframe maintenance because it influences overhead, materials, and direct labor.
 Hangar utilization, or bay occupancy, is a measure of how fully a company employs its
hangar facility. A three-shift-per-day, seven-day-per-week schedule makes full use of the
hangar.
 The trend of the ratio of indirect labor to direct labor is to decrease with increased man-hour
capacity.

Direct labor
 Scale (same as in “Indirect labor”).
 Labor utilization is a measure of how fully the available labor force is being used and
determined by dividing the booked man-hours by available man-hours.
 Labor productivity is a measure of the time it takes to perform a task relative to some
standard.
 Labor experience.
 Labor rate per man-hour is a measure of the labor cost per available man-hours. This ratio is
a function of wage rates, social benefits, and so forth.

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Materials
 Scale (same as in “Indirect labor”).
 Size of the stock.

In addition to the cost drivers we have listed, there are other cost drivers associated with:

 airplane design and technology level (improved systems and components, reliability of new
airplanes, improved materials and procedures used in the manufacturing process of the new
airplane). New airplanes also incorporate all new and recent modifications.
 airplane operation (daily utilization [function of schedule], average weight, flight length,
cycles, load factor, and so forth;
 airline maintenance policies (age of fleet, training, subcontract work, capacity, and so forth);
 climatic conditions and distances (en route conditions, condition of runway and aircraft
remain overnight [RON] parking, and so forth).

Among the numerous variables I have listed above, flight length and average age of fleet are
probably the most significant cost drivers. To reduce airplane maintenance costs, operators
must control and reduce the influence of these variables.

Additionally, operators can reduce costs by striving to do the following:

1. Reduce maintenance activities by

 optimizing routine maintenance,
 reducing non-routine maintenance, and
 improving components and systems reliability

2. Simplify maintenance methods by

 improving aircraft maintainability through identifying and correcting maintainability
design deficiencies
 improving maintenance procedures

3. Improve operational methods by

 overhauling the airplane inventory system,
 reducing flight schedule disruptions,
 making effective decisions pertaining to in-house versus outsourced contract
maintenance, and
 improving cost accounting methods, and so forth

Reducing Maintenance Actions by Optimizing Routine Maintenance

Basic routine maintenance are initially developed and proposed by the airplane manufacturer
and airplane operators throughout the airplane’s design and manufacturing process. The
regulatory authority audits the initially proposed tasks and determines whether any changes are
necessary. The regulatory authority must approve such changes. In many cases, before routine
(scheduled) tasks are carried out, the airplane operator itself may rearrange the tasks to suit its
operational, environmental, and technical requirements.

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As service experience is gained through the operation of the airplane fleet, the maintenance
tasks are constantly updated and modified by adding or deleting specific tasks and/or also by
increasing or reducing the time intervals between tasks. This amendment process is controlled
by various methods within the aviation industry. For instance, a typical method currently used
by many airlines will add tasks to the scheduled maintenance program based on operational
findings or recommendations made by system engineers without having properly evaluated the
task for applicability and effectiveness. Also, this method does not apply a systematic periodic
review process for program optimization. This method in the long run can generate a large
number of new and duplicate tasks, resulting in an expanded and enlarged work package as
well as increased maintenance costs. Maintenance costs can be reduced by optimizing the
scheduled maintenance program.

A good example of an effective optimization process was provided by the Engineering

Maintenance Advisory Committee (EMAC) Conference of 1985, held in Zurich, Switzerland, and
later became known as the EMAC process. It proved to be very effective in optimizing scheduled
maintenance programs. In this process each individual task in the maintenance program is
reviewed and evaluated against the operator’s service experience in that specific area. The
evaluation process can identify tasks that are no longer effective, tasks that do not satisfy their
original intent, tasks that may be made redundant by modification, or tasks that may be carried
out in a simpler manner, and so forth. By applying such a process, airlines can significantly
reduce airplane maintenance costs in the long run.

Reducing Non-Routine Maintenance

Non-routine maintenance, also called unscheduled maintenance, is defined by the World Airline
Technical Operations Glossary (WATOG) as maintenance performed to restore an item to a
satisfactory condition by providing correction of known or suspected malfunction and/or defect.
In the industry there is a rule of thumb regarding non-routine maintenance: for each hour of
routine maintenance an operator expends, it will generate one hour on non-routine
maintenance on a new and young airplane. As airplanes age, non-routine maintenance will
likely double or triple. Although this observation is not always true, it is true enough to serve as
an indication of how many non-routine maintenance hours can be expected. Activities that are
considered non-routine maintenance include fixing and repairing systems and component
malfunctions, various modifications, and work done in response to pilot complaints such as
abnormal flight occurrences, hard and overweight landings, foreign object damage (FOD),
lighting strikes, and maintenance “squawks.”

The need for non-routine maintenance activities is often attributed to airplane design
discrepancies, an ineffective airplane maintenance program, poor maintenance policies and
management decisions, and the aging of an airplane.

Airplane design discrepancies. These problems are caused by the use of substandard materials
and poor design practices during the manufacturing process. Operators can reduce and/or
eliminate design discrepancies by incorporating manufacturer-recommended modifications or
by incorporating in-house developed modifications.

An ineffective airplane maintenance program. Maintenance programs are ineffective when an

initial scheduled maintenance program is implemented that does not meet the minimum

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requirements of an effective maintenance program. A program can also become ineffective if
its individual task interval is repeatedly increased without regard to the potential consequences,
such as increase in the ratio of non-routine to routine maintenance, which should signal
managers that there is a need to adjust the task interval. An increase in this ratio beyond a
certain limit may render the intent of the maintenance task completely ineffective. Program
adjustment and upgrade can be achieved by reevaluating and analyzing all the significant
components of airplane systems and structures using the Maintenance Steering Group (MSG-3)
process, which uses a decision logic diagram for the development of a scheduled maintenance
program for a new airplane, combined with the airline’s unique service experience or by
pursuing an effective airplane reliability program to evaluate and analyze service problems so
as to take the necessary corrective actions.

Poor maintenance policies and management decisions. Management policies and decisions
that do not allow for a adequate ground time for airplane maintenance and do not provide
adequate training for maintenance personnel can drastically increase non-routine maintenance.
Poor management decisions may also preclude the incorporation of essential modifications
that could actually contribute to reducing the need for airplane maintenance.

The age effect of the airplane. Jet airplanes have an extensive design life limit, and there are
few technical reasons for retiring them. But airplanes are often pulled out of service and retired
for economic reasons. For many years operators have reported a rise in airplane maintenance
costs as airplanes age. This rise in cost can be reduced if factors contributing to the generation
of non-routine maintenance can be identified and controlled. The following factors should be
considered and actions taken as appropriate:

 Airplane age must be considered as a factor in the long-term planning of the fleet.

 The effectiveness and quality of the maintenance program should be balanced against the
aging airplanes’ requirements.

 A plan must be put in place to reduce check intervals to account for airplane age.

 Adequate records must be kept to reflect the status and findings of aging airplanes.

 Indications of an increase in downtime to correct non-routine findings and/or an increase in

the non-routine/routine ratio cannot be ignored.

Improving Components and Systems Reliability

Unreliable airplane parts can generate a large number of unscheduled (non-routine)
maintenance activities. The increased need for maintenance work, in turn, necessitates
additional maintenance ground time, which in turn increases airplane maintenance costs.
Extended maintenance ground time can also cause delays and cancelation of revenue flights.
These delays can be very costly and add to the total operating cost of the airplane. Airplane
maintenance cost can be reduced by improving airplane reliability and maintainability. This
improvement can be influenced by the airplane operator during the design stage and during the
airplane’s operational life. During the design stage, operators usually set reliability and
maintainability targets and require that the manufacturer meet these goals before the airplane
is delivered. Typical targets include:
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 dispatch reliability (percentage departures on time and percentage departures within 15
minutes);
 non-routine maintenance (line check: time allowed = 45 minutes; and minor check: time
allowed = 8 hours);
 component change time (rotables: percentage to be changed within one hour);
 airplane mean flights between failures (the number of flights the airplane makes before
failure).

After airplane delivery, the manufacturer can further improve reliability by providing
modifications and repairs based on evaluation and analysis of the airplane’s service experience
in the field. Dispatch reliability can be improved by improving airplane reliability and
maintainability. Improved reliability also reduced non-routine maintenance. Improved
maintainability reduces the time required to accomplish both non-routine and routine
maintenance. Reliability and maintainability targets are usually included in the new-airline
specifications provided by the airplane operator.

When the airplane is in the operational phase, operators themselves can improve airplane
reliability and reduce maintenance problems by implementing an effective airplane reliability
program. An effective program will monitor, analyze, and highlight those airplane parts that are
unreliable and increase cost. Through a reliability program the operator will be in a position to
quantify the extent of a problem and the urgency with which it needs to be eliminated. Using a
reliability program, however, cannot ensure reliability levels greater than those inherent in the
design of the airplane. A reliability program is a closed-loop cycle. The following steps should be
taken to implement a reliability program:

 collect data on operational performance;

 document the collected data and prepare statistical reports;
 identify, analyze, and investigate any problems and deficiencies;
 propose and implement corrective actions;
 monitor and adjust the effectiveness of the corrective actions.

An effective and efficient reliability program can reduce airplane maintenance cost by reducing
component failures and reducing process problems. On the other hand, programs that collect
data, identify unreliable components, and process problems but that do not involve taking
action to correct problems will be very costly and will not serve the airline’s purposes.

Improving Airplane Maintainability

Airplane maintainability can be defined as a measure of economy of time, men, and equipment
required to achieve a specified action such as repair of an unserviceable airplane. From this
definition we conclude that a true measure of airplane maintainability would be the mean time
to repair (MTTR) an unserviceable airplane, of the mean man-hours to repair an unserviceable
airplane. Maintainability is designed and built into the airplane during the design and
manufacturing process. Lack of airplane maintainability can result from a number of reasons.
Typical reasons include:

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 no fault indicators or ground test equipment included in the design of the airplane;
 concentration of parts and equipment in limited areas of the airplane;
 lengthy maintenance methods and repair procedures;
 lengthy or inadequate fault isolation procedure;
 unskilled or untrained mechanic on the job.

To reduce airplane maintenance cost, airplane maintainability has to be improved. This

improvement can be undertaken during the design and manufacturing stage of the airplane
and also during the operational phase. At the design stage the manufacturer can improve
maintainability by:

1. Designing the aircraft for improved mean time to repair the unserviceable airplane. The
improvement is achieved if the time required to diagnose, locate, access, replace and/or
fix, and test the faulty component s reduced.
2. Designing the aircraft to accommodate increased onboard maintenance equipment. This
design work would include installing equipment such as lights, hoist, drip trays, roller trays,
power supply units, and self-test equipment to help expedite maintenance actions.
3. Designing the aircraft to allow for standardization of tools and components. This would
include standardizing highly used parts to make them more interchangeable; standardizing
maintenance methods and repair techniques, and standardizing the highly used tools, test
equipment, and special tools required for airplane maintenance and repair.

In the operational phase, the operator can play an important role in improving airplane
maintainability by providing skilled and adequately trained mechanics on the job and by
providing simplified maintenance and fault isolation procedures. By providing the manufacturer
with operational data gathered from service experience, the operator can enlist the
manufacturer’s help in identifying maintainability deficiencies and finding a solution for them.

Improving Operational Methods

Overhauling the Airplane Inventory System
Overhauling the airplane inventory system is becoming a higher priority as airplane operators
press their search for competitive cost advantages. Experience has shown that operators that
overhaul their inventory system have achieved reduced expenses, liberated capital that can be
invested in other parts of the business, and make the airplane operators more competitive.
Inventory management can be vastly improved through an ongoing reengineering and overhaul
process. Eliminating nonproductive inventory, reducing levels of active inventory, pooling and
leasing inventory, as well as establishing partnerships with suppliers are some of the major
steps required in the reengineering and overhauling the inventory system.

Eliminating nonproductive inventory. More than 10 percent of industry inventory is

nonproductive. This consists of obsolete inventory (parts that have no future value), excessive
inventory (safety-related parts stocked beyond service requirements), and short-term inventory
(parts stocked for operational hold). The best method for disposing of this type of inventory is to

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sell or market in through an established parts distributor and also to avoid adding new layers of
active inventory.

Reducing levels o active inventory. Air carriers and airplane operators hold excessive amounts
of inventory because short-term demands for aircraft parts are very unpredictable, and
suppliers’/vendors’ lead times (cycle time) are usually long and exceed the maintenance cycle
time. To reduce its level of inventory, the air carrier has to achieve a significant improvement in
forecasting demand for parts and/or make suppliers reduce their lead time. The more
immediate and effective way to reduce levels of active inventory, however, is the latter,
reducing supplier lead times. In this regard, one should distinguish between
expendable/consumable, rotable, and repairable parts. With expendable parts, levels of
inventory are determined based on the lead time required for the distributors and
manufacturers to provide such parts. Therefore a sudden reduction of supplier lead time can
effectively result in a reduced level of inventory. In the case of the rotable and repairable parts,
the levels of inventory will depend on the repair cycle for the specific component. Therefore, the
overriding goal for this kind of inventory is to lessen repair turnaround times.

Pooling and leasing inventory. Airplane operators can achieve significant cost reductions by
pooling and leasing inventory. Pooling inventory with other operators has the additional benefit
of providing economies of scale. As the fleet grows, the value of inventory required to achieve
protection from being out of stock for each aircraft decreases. The larger the fleet, the less time
the inventory sits in storage, therefore the less the cost of handling, insurance, and storage of
these materials. Many inventory pools exist today, including those arranged between airlines
and those provided through arrangements made with third parties. Although small operators
can benefit most from pooling inventory, large operators can also achieve some benefit from
doing so. When entering a pool agreement with other operators or a third party, aircraft
operators should consider factors such as fleet type, fleet configurations, technical standards,
tractability, and geographic proximity. Pooling is increasingly popular for expensive rotables
such as spare engines and electronic “black box” components.

Leasing is another alternative way to ensure access to spare parts. The main advantage to
leasing is that it gives the operator flexibility and frees up capital. The parts leasing process
resembles to a large degree the airplane leasing process.

Establishing a partnership with suppliers. Establishing partnerships with suppliers and parts
providers is another way to reduce parts ownership. Creating a formal intercompany inventory
management program is very attractive for items that are not extremely valuable but have
extremely high procurement costs. Some operators have integrated their purchasing systems
with their suppliers through an electronic data interchange network, and others have
established just-in-time agreements with their suppliers and repair providers.

Reducing Flight Schedule Disruptions

Airplane delays and cancelations are disruptive to the flights schedule and can cause serious
financial impact in terms of both the revenue that is lost when the airplane sits on the ground
and the increased costs of airplane maintenance. Airplane delays of one to four hours can have
a serious impact on revenues because passengers may switch to another carrier if that option is
available, and passengers with connections will very likely miss their planned connection and
may have to be rerouted on a more expensive route, stay overnight to await the next morning’s
flight, or complete the remainder of the trip on another air carrier’s flight. All of these options

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are expensive, but cancelations are more expensive, because all revenue from the flight is lost,
and most of the passengers will travel by other means, resulting in the worst situation – loss of
customers.

The maintenance organization can play a major role in reducing airplane delays and
cancelations. Following are some of the actions that airline management can take to reduce
airplane delays and cancelations:

 Report faults promptly, since late reporting can increase the risk of delay. Delays can also
result from crew workload constraints and crew changes;
 Adjust flight schedules to allow for realistically maximum turnaround time;
 Limit and control the deferred maintenance items. Deferred maintenance items are
governed in most cases by regulation as well as by corporate policy;
 Improve communications and cooperation between the maintenance and flight operations
departments;
 Make sure that the process used for making dispatch decisions is simple and not time
consuming. Ensure that the Minimum Equipment List (MEL) does not require several levels
of deferral approval authority; (A Minimum Equipment List allows an operator to continue a
flight or series of flights with certain instruments or equipment inoperative while the aircraft
travels to a place where repairs can be made. For the operator to be able to use the MEL, the
procedural requirements for the equipment loss must first be met.)
 Make sure that necessary items of ground support equipment (GSE) are available and in
serviceable condition;
 Schedule management meetings with relevant staff to review causes of delays in order to
establish a planned course of corrective action;
 Provide the mobility and/or accessibility of fully equipped workshop vans containing items
such as tools, manuals for a variety of aircraft types, a mobile high lift platform, and spares
such as hydraulic pumps, pressure regulator valves, and a selection of wheels, housing seals,
and lightbulbs;
 Remove from the mechanic the responsibilities for duties such as refueling the airplane, to
leave him or her with more time for handling airplane and system discrepancies;
 Provide effective training for mechanics, enabling them to isolate and correct mechanical
irregularities during scheduled ground times, to make effective use of the MEL as well as
allowable deviation procedures;
 Make sure that the maintenance programs include tasks that improve on-time performance
of the airplane.

Operators can also reduce airplane delays and cancelations by reducing engine removals as
well as preventing in-flight shutdowns and aborted takeoffs. The following practices can help
operators to continuously monitor engine condition and maintain satisfactory operation without
having to remove the engine from the wing:

 Monitor engine condition trend;

 Analyze spectrographic oil;

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“How Can Airplane Operators Reduce Maintenance Cost” – by Imran Asif imran.asif@gmail.com http://bd.linkedin.com/in/imranasif/
 Monitor engine vibration forces;
 Watch for engine metal chip.

Conclusion
Throughout this paper we have identified and discussed the critical factors that must be
addressed by an airplane operator in order to reduce its airplane maintenance costs.
Specifically, airplane reliability and airplane maintainability are the two most crucial elements
for an airplane operator to understand, manage, and to the greatest extent possible, control.
Reliability and maintainability of aircraft are integrally related to an airline’s schedule reliability,
a key parameter of airline operations. Improved levels on on-time performance/service
attributable to increased airplane reliability present a real potential for the airplane operator to
enhance its reputation, avoid erosion of its revenues, and minimize costs associated with
irregular operations. Maintainability is equally important, in that it ensures the airplane
operator’s ability to comply with regulatory requirements and obligations while simultaneously
minimizing the time required to perform such maintenance; as a result, associated costs are
also minimized. Finally, we have attempted to demonstrate the critical importance of increased
cooperation among stakeholders such as the airplane manufacturer, the airplane operator, and
the suppliers of parts and components, as a key ingredient in efforts to ensure that airplane
operators are successful in their endeavor to reduce their organizations’ maintenance costs.

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“How Can Airplane Operators Reduce Maintenance Cost” – by Imran Asif imran.asif@gmail.com http://bd.linkedin.com/in/imranasif/