IFS launches Tail Planning, Optimisation and Assignment solution for civil aviation sector
Sumit Kumar Verma
The global civil aviation industry continues to grow rapidly. In a study done by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), it is expected that air passenger growth would double by 2035. About 7.2 billion people will travel by air over the next 20 years with four Asia Pacific countries — China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam — being in the five fastest growing destination.
Clearly, air travel dominance is now shifting to the Asia Pacific. According to Delhi-based business management firm, ICF International, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) demand in the Asia Pacific is 28 per cent of the global market. In fact, it has already surpassed Europe at 26 per cent and is only 1 per cent lower than the US. With countries like India and China, where more people are choosing air travel as against traditional modes of travelling, the competition is tough for airlines.
In order to handle this growth in air passenger, more aircraft would be needed. It has been forecast that production of civil aircraft would grow at about 25 per cent in the next decade. Further, there would be a spurt in MRO services. Thus, the challenges for airlines today are manifold and include balancing the act with fluctuating fuel prices, boosting efficiency, providing better customer services at low costs and improving performance.
The demands are the same for civil aviation support industry regardless of whether they specialise in heavy or line maintenance of aircraft or engines, components repairs, are an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and deliver aftermarket service or a third party engine overhaul shop. There is an increase in focus to consistently deliver on time, conform to regulatory controls and continuously improve turnaround times in the most cost effective manner whilst maintaining a high quality of service.
All this calls for optimisation of work, and it is here that help has come to the aviation industry. Industrial and Financial Systems (IFS), a global enterprise application company, has introduced a 24x7 tail planning and maintenance allocation solutions for the global civil aviation industry. IFS’ Tail Planning Optimisation and Assignment maximises aircraft allocation efficiency, supports aircraft planning and optimally schedules maintenance events, thus allowing airline operators to make informed decisions faster.
“The companies today have numerous systems for maintenance, spare parts, finance, HR, etc. How could you possibly run an integrated business if your data is not integrated?” said Espen Olsen, Director, Business Development & Sales, IFS Aerospace & Defence Centre of Excellence Applications.
The IFS Tail Planning Optimisation and Assignment solution gathers real-time data from disparate airline systems to continuously optimise the utilisation of the fleet and assign the best aircraft for flight. It provides full visibility and dynamic optimisation within a single solution, well in advance of planned flight tasking and maintenance events. Planners can now handle a wider planning window and dynamically manage hard and soft constraints that affect aircraft scheduling, such as destination or maintenance requirements, and analyse the impact of these events on the flight schedule. Maintenance engineers now benefit from full visibility, ahead of planned maintenance events and available aircraft ground times.
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