Keeping the fleet flying

Airbus estimates that the market for aircraft aftermarket services will be $290 billion globally in 2043, up from $150 billion in 2024. Behind this staggering growth lies a forecasted annual passenger increase of 3.8%, and a growing fleet gradually switching to new-generation aircraft.

Already in 2024, that $150 billion industry supported over 27,000 aircraft. As airlines introduce ever-more sophisticated innovations, predictive maintenance is a major growth area. Given that operational inefficiencies are estimated to cost the airline industry around $70 billion in 2030, that’s good news. Digital services could address up to one third of that figure, straight out of the box.

The Digital Alliance for Aviation

Predictive maintenance is the art of keeping aircraft in the air. Its digital models and algorithms can sniff out part or system failures before they ground an aircraft. Combined with effective inventory and shop management, predictive maintenance converts unscheduled maintenance into the scheduled kind.

Airbus reckons that by 2043, that switch could gift commercial aircraft operators a $4 billion annual maintenance saving. On top of that come material savings on the parts themselves. If equipment is fixed before it fails, the cost of returning it to service is significantly lower. The bigger the part, the larger the saving.

In that spirit, the Digital Alliance for Aviation develops reliable, accurate predictive models that use AI technologies including machine learning and natural language processing.

Created in 2019, its founding members are complementary: they are Airbus; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) expert Delta Tech Ops; and fellow original equipment manufacturer (OEM) GE Aerospace. The Alliance is the only one of its kind in the industry. Its platform is powered by Airbus Skywise, to which some 11,600 aircraft were connected in late 2024.

Predictive maintenance is just part of the picture. Predictability enables smoother repair operations, plus the digitisation of the paper trails they create. It allows data to be organised and structured at scale, from monitoring a 20-year old jet to a factory-fresh A350. In terms of raw manhours, predictability also helps airlines to ‘right-size’ their maintenance operations, assigning shop teams to the right place at the right time.

easyJet avoids almost 80 cancellations in two months 

The Digital Alliance for Aviation is steadily proving its ability to offer ‘nose to tail’ aftermarket monitoring across every Airbus aircraft family. Its hive mind develops monitoring for the largest possible number of aircraft parts. A typical A320, for example, contains over 180 monitored airframe and systems items. They include the biggest troublemakers, such as hydro-mechanical, electrical and fuel system parts. At a time of tension in the supply chain, it’s an important advantage.

This predictive monitoring is badged as Skywise Fleet Performance+ (SFP+), and is already reality for some 40 customers operating around 1,500 aircraft between them. Among them is easyJet. The UK airline estimates the annual fuel saving directly linked to SFP+ at 8.1 tonnes per aircraft in its A320 Family fleet.

In the month of July 2024 alone, easyJet was able to avoid 44 flight cancellations by using SFP+. The following month, 35 cancellations were avoided. Delays and cancellations are exactly the type of indirect costs airlines incur when their aircraft are grounded, compounding the price of parts and maintenance.  

"Utilising the data and insights from SFP+, easyJet was able to anticipate several system failures, which led to proactive action by our maintenance teams avoiding unscheduled failures," says Swaran Sidhu, Head of Fleet Technical Management at the airline.

The experience of SFP+ users such as easyJet helps the Alliance improve the maturity and efficacy of its trouble-shooting algorithms. Moreover, deciding which ‘troublemakers' to monitor next is informed by the terabytes of operational data that the Alliance partners harvest from airlines around the world.  

Liebherr strengthens the Alliance 

Now another OEM big hitter is strengthening Skywise and the Digital Alliance for Aviation: Liebherr. Liebherr boosts expertise in critical aircraft systems, extending the range of components the Alliance is able to monitor to operationally troublesome areas such as air conditioning, pneumatic, flight control and landing gear systems.

Liebherr’s deep knowledge of the systems it supplies will naturally complement the Alliance's existing analytics capabilities. This integration further sharpens the accuracy of predictive maintenance recommendations, reducing costly ‘No Fault Found’ scenarios.

Boosted by its new partner, the Alliance intends to extend predictive maintenance to the A220 and A350 during 2025, with the same product value delivered today on the A320 and A330. From 2026, the offer will extend to non-Airbus aircraft. It also harbours ambitions to create a ‘unified’ offer that extends beyond predictive maintenance into asset management and eOperations. And other experts could soon enter the fold.

The Digital Alliance for Aviation and its airline customers are leading the aviation industry’s digital transformation. They are united in their ambition to solve the toughest technical and operational challenges, while developing a resource-friendly approach to maintenance that keeps aircraft in the sky. 

On the photo, from left to right:

• Alexandre Beaux, Sales Director, GE
• Joël Cadaux, Director Business & Services – Customer Services, Liebherr-Aerospace & Transportation SAS
• Claude Houver, VP Innovation and Digital Solutions, Airbus
• Alex Vlielander, Chief Customer Officier, Liebherr
• Basil Papayoti, Delta VP Sales and Marketing for MRO Service
• Naseem Haq, Senior Solution Architect, GE
• Alice Albinet, Sales Director, GE