Comment: Why tech will fuel aviation’s recovery

Over last two and a half years we’ve seen aircrafts sitting idle in ‘desert boneyards’ from California to Alice Springs. Here, aircraft are taped up or look broken-down, which naturally raises safety concerns for passengers. Could something be overlooked in the chaos, and how are airlines or their maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) providers ensuring that their fleets are safe and flight-ready?

Keeping aircraft safer and in the sky longer

A key component to any airline’s recovery strategy is the concerted adoption of forward-thinking cloud-based technology infrastructures that allow for optimised processes, organisational transparency, and data-driven insights.

The largest airlines are already making the transition from outdated maintenance systems to cloud-based infrastructures like IFS Cloud to unlock optimised efficiencies for fleet configurations, maintenance planning, paperless work orders, and standardised reporting, delivering true fleet oversight across the entire value chain. Forward-thinking airlines such as Japan Airlines are already taking the next step in their digital transformation journey, using artificial intelligence as the backbone for predictive maintenance systems.

By providing airlines and MROs with the ability to provide better maintenance scheduling at the times when it’s most convenient, airlines can increase passenger satisfaction by providing flights with less delays.

Automating labour-intensive processes

Cloud-based infrastructures provide airlines and MRO providers with a single source of truth for their dispersed workforce. No matter if teams are in Sydney, Perth, or Dubai, they can have access to the same information in real-time — ensuring transparency over every aspect of the aircraft’s maintenance.

Airlines and MRO providers are also seeking out automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to overcome understaffing challenges, as the onset of the pandemic brought about workforce reductions by many of Australia’s largest airlines and MRO providers. Automated processes will play a major role in streamlining workflows, alleviating some of the more labour-intensive processes that come with fleet maintenance planning.

Responding quicker to supply chain disruptions

Finally, Australia’s location compared to the rest of the world means that disruptions to global supply chains can have huge implications for our domestic market — and this particularly affects the commercial aviation sector.

The ongoing effects of the global pandemic and geopolitical disruptions have caused havoc to crucial functions involved with running an aircraft from spare parts to fuel costs. But the advent of digital twin systems, fuelled by intelligent operational and market data, allows airlines to have the foresight to plan for the once-unforeseen. By harnessing operational intelligence, airlines will be empowered to make the decisions they need to keep both their maintenance processes and bottom line at their most optimal.

The return to international travel and a consumer yearning to reconnect with the world provides a significant opportunity for airlines to make headway in their recovery plans. To seize this opportunity, airlines must take heed of other industries and embrace the innovative ways of tomorrow — for example, by adopting cloud-based infrastructure — rather than reverting to the legacy systems of the past.