Czech Airlines to reduce its expenses

With newly concluded advantageous contracts, Czech Airlines will reduce its costs incurred in the repair of rotable aircraft units.  The Airline re-tendered assignments for the repair of rotable aircraft units for its Boeing B737, Airbus A320, and turbo-propeller ATR aircraft.  The newly concluded contracts are more advantageous for Czech Airlines and mean a reduction in costs in the order of tens of million of crowns per year.
The new partner in terms of aircraft unit repair for aircraft from the Airbus A320 family (A319/A320/A321) is a UK-based company, A.J. Walter Aviation, which has concluded a seven year contract with Czech Airlines, to provide rotable component support to the fleet of A319/A320/A321 Airbuses.  Currently, the Airline operates 16 such aircraft.  Furthermore, in the upcoming years, it is planning to include further A320 family aircraft in its fleet.  Overall, A.J. Walter Aviation may be caring for as many as 33 Czech Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft in the future.
The best offer for the maintenance of aircraft units for Boeing B737 aircraft was presented by the Dutch branch of the US-based AAR Corporation, with which Czech Airlines signed an advantageous agreement for the repair of rotable aircraft units for the next seven years.  Czech Airlines’ ATR rotable aircraft units will be taken care of directly by their manufacturer – the French company ATR, which won the tender.
“With the newly concluded contracts, Czech Airlines has managed to achieve more advantageous commercial conditions with high-quality and experienced partners, who hold the necessary certificates and will provide rotable unit repair of the highest standard.  With this step, Czech Airlines has immediately begun saving significant financial amounts, which is of great importance, especially in this difficult period,” said Czech Airlines’ Vice-President Technical, Roman Planička.
Rotable aircraft units are those parts and components that can be removed and for which a separate maintenance schedule is set.  These include various aggregates, pumps, and control mechanisms, etc.
The New MRO System Will Bring Significant Savings 
The most significant project of recent years at Czech Airlines’ Technical Division is the introduction of the new specialised information system, AMOS, for managing aircraft maintenance and repair – the so-called MRO system (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), which was launched into full operation on 10 November 2008.  The investment into this project amounted to tens of millions of crowns, but these expenditures will be recouped within two years.  The goal of the project is to improve the internal functioning of aircraft maintenance while maintaining a high level of safety in the operation of the aircraft fleet.  There should be, among other things, a significant reduction in the duration of maintenance and a reduction of the warehouse stock of aircraft spare parts, by up to one-quarter by the end of this year.
The deployment of the sophisticated planning tool produced by Swiss Aviation Software also represents significant potential for increasing labour productivity and efficiency at the Technical Division.  This will increase Czech Airlines’ competitiveness, not only as an air carrier, but also as an entity active on the international aircraft maintenance market.
 

Source: Transportweekly