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Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) announced it has signed an agreement with New Zealand’s national airline to deliver an engine service and support program.
The engine maintenance solution for Air New Zealand covers PW123-powered DHC8-300 aircraft in the airline’s Air Nelson fleet and PW127M-powered ATR72-500/600 aircraft in the airline’s Mount Cook fleet.
The agreement also includes installation of P&WC’s FAST solution for advanced prognostics and engine health management on more than 50 aircraft. P&WC is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
“The combination of our customized engine service and support program and FAST technology is a comprehensive solution that will help Air New Zealand with its maintenance costs while enabling preventive engine and aircraft health management through more timely, accurate, in-depth data,” said Michel Toutant, vice-president of customer service, P&WC. “This agreement demonstrates the importance of working closely with customers to understand the intricacies of their business and develop solutions that address their needs.”
Air New Zealand Group general manager of regional airlines Carrie Hurihanganui said, “This agreement builds on our long association with Pratt & Whitney Canada and supports our engineering and maintenance programs for our regional airline fleets while delivering long term cost efficiencies.”
The inclusion of P&WC’s turnkey FAST prognostics solution is another key advantage. The technology monitors engine health, usage and trends by capturing and analyzing full-flight data-including automated propeller vibration trend monitoring.
The FAST solution goes beyond traditional diagnostics and prognostics to enable proactive and predictive engine health management, helping drive increased availability and lower operating costs. More than 1,200 FAST solutions have been delivered across numerous platforms, including 20 regional airlines.
FAST Enhancement
This agreement comes on the heels of an announcement that P&WC has introduced a new enhancement to its FAST engine health management solution that automates propeller vibration trend monitoring.
The new capabilities put propeller balancing maintenance in “on-condition” mode for a predictive and optimized environment designed to reduce operating costs and pilot and mechanic workload.
The FAST solution, under P&WC’s expanding suite of digital engine services, provides full-flight data after each mission for over 2,000 P&WC engines, a 50 per cent increase of engines supported by the solution in the past 12 months.
P&WC’s FAST system, including the new propeller vibration trend monitoring solution, is certified and customized for regional aircraft manufactured by Bombardier and ATR.
“The FAST solution is one of several engine health management initiatives to help move customers toward more fully planned maintenance environments, designed to increase aircraft availability and reduce direct maintenance costs,” says Tim Swail, vice-president of customer programs at P&WC.
“For our regional airline customers, FAST’s automated propeller vibration trending can enhance passenger comfort, reduce operating costs and offer greater component reliability due to lower propeller vibration levels.”
Among the solution’s many cost- and time-savings benefits are the elimination of manual data downloads and additional propeller-vibration verification flights. As with all data captured and analyzed by the FAST solution, propeller-vibration intelligence is securely sent to the customer after the pilot shuts down the aircraft’s engines.
“We are committed to delivering cost-effective services to our regional airline customers that drive greater engine and aircraft availability and help to optimize their maintenance and operations,” said Swail.
“Through FAST, we are equipping them with data-driven turnkey solutions that help create the type of passenger experience that generates loyalty and repeat business. What’s more, the FAST solution is enabling our customers to identify potential issues well in advance so they can be minimized or avoided entirely.”
P&WC’s FAST solution is available for numerous aircraft platforms serving hundreds of customers in regional airlines, business jets, helicopters and general aviation. Other recent enhancements to FAST include enabling on-board event detection and crew alerts.
