Rolls-Royce opens engine services Airline Aircraft Availability Centre

Rolls-Royce has opened its new engine services Airline Aircraft Availability Centre, combining the latest in digital data management and technology innovation, marking another step towards its vision that every aircraft it powers departs and lands on time, every time, and does so as efficiently as possible.

Using data analytics, the Airline Aircraft Availability Centre, in Derby, UK, plans engine operations and maintenance, driving efficiency in an industry where a 1% fuel saving can be worth $250,000 per aircraft per year and an out of service aircraft can cost an airline thousands of dollars a day.

Rolls-Royce already monitors thousands of engines across the world, with a Rolls-Royce powered aircraft taking off or landing every 16 seconds. By monitoring the data transmitted from these engines, Rolls-Royce can ensure those aircraft are available for service 24/7, with the right parts and people available to make that happen.

The Airline Aircraft Availability Centre will see Rolls-Royce take its digital capability much further as engine data is transformed in terms of scale and scope – from kilobytes of data per flight to terabytes - allowing for even better, faster, services decisions to be made. It complements Rolls-Royce’s global network of customer service centers, created to work locally with customers, by providing in-depth expertise.

The center also positions Rolls-Royce to turn its IntelligentEngine concept into a reality – combining analysis of digital data from its engines with those of its customers and partners to improve airline economics in terms of aircraft availability and fuel efficiency, supported by new services technologies and techniques.

Tom Palmer, Rolls-Royce senior vice president for services in civil aerospace, said: “We are entering a new era of digital connectivity and new services technology which allows us to greatly expand the type of services we can offer, with aircraft availability a key objective.”

The Airline Aircraft Availability Centre will also be a hub for the introduction of new technologies, such as a new real-time collaboration system that lets engineers working on engines around the world share live pictures from inside an engine with the team at the center, and receive their advice on the next steps to take. In addition, “remote surgery” techniques will let experts at the center carry out complex engineering tasks on the engine by remote control.