aog support aog services

So critical is 24/7 aog support that Eurocopter the OEM offer a Parts By The Hour (PBH) service. Dedicated to commercial operators, this service is available for the entire range of Eurocopter products.

It guarantees you the immediate availability without owning inventory.

Your maintenance costs are fixed and helicopter downtime is minimized. With PBH, you are free to fully focus on your activities, to optimize your margins.

PBH is a tailor-made service contract that covers:

• All D level scheduled and unscheduled Repairs & Overhauls for dynamic components -- Blades and basic equipment are included. Part replacements are guaranteed within 24 hours through standard exchange, thanks to dedicated inventories
• Life limited parts replacement -- At the end of their service life, all parts are replaced by new Eurocopter-guaranteed parts
• Mandatory modifications -- All the parts you receive are at the latest standard including the mandatory modifications as defined in Service Bulletins

With PBH, you enjoy all the benefits of a true maintenance contract that makes business sense, including:

• Budget control
• Permanent availability of your fleet
• Time and cost saving
• Enhanced safety
• Better resale value

Spares companies who sell from stock are geared to the challenge, but to offer international aog spares support across national boundaries has implications. AOG companies offer stock control and storage management, providing complete single source logistic support services. Principal features include:

• they are qualified to process export licenses with full U.S. Department of Commerce and State Department compliance.
• they offer full service freight forwarding office with the ability and connections to ship anything (including HAZMAT) anywhere, at any time, via any method.
• they offer single point of contact for shipping and billing.
• they have complete flexibility in accepting payment in the legal tender of the client country.
• Expert knowledge of U.S. and NATO source inspection requirements.

Aeroxchange. By year 2000, 33 airlines had got together to co-operate in e-commerce and e-procurement which is the future.

Airline maintenance is complicated. And airlines can't afford to have huge inventories of spare parts in all airports. So they have a few places (hubs), where they keep their stuff. And they certainly do keep a lot of it. The estimates of excess inventory are astounding: billions and billions and billions. But better to have the spare part yourself than to rely on a competing airline. You see, airlines catch each other in "AOG" status (aircraft-on-ground). AOG means you've got a plane unexpectedly in need of service with passengers waiting. You can't take off without a part & a repair. Competing airlines come up with astronomical mark-ups for the part required for lift-off. And the cycle of revenge takes over from there.

Enter Aeroxchange, a modern day version of the old inventory listing services like ILS. Aeroxchange strives to become the trusted agent for airlines and parts dealers & manufacturers, a "neutral party between buyer and seller."

Of course, Aeroxchange turned to reverse auctions to maintain cash flow early on as they were building up their supply chain offering.

The best example was sourcing all the lightbulbs in the cockpit of a particular aircraft, let's say a 737. The first piece of information you need to know is that there were over 400 different light bulbs in there. The second piece is that the airlines who participated had all been buying from the same guy. He'd take them golfing and wined and dined them. Of course, he refused to participate in the event. New suppliers were found, and at an average saving of over 50% . The guy lost the business, but you must realize that the more efficient suppliers had been artificially blocked from winning the business for so long. He may even have sued AeroXchange. Sour grapes.

But with good software, Aeroxchange has an opportunity to build a much more important business than reverse auctions. By maintaining a part history that includes all regulatory requirements - for rotables and non-rotables, including scanned images of certifications, etc, (RFID tags in times to come)... it can be a brave new world. A virtual inventory of all available parts from manufacturers, brokers, and other airlines, with all the information needed to generate a "fair and reasonable" price.

It's idealistic, but that's a good thing, right? ...airlines sharing inventory and parts information to make us safer in the air. Airlines benefit by more efficiently maintaining their fleet. With that & their reverse auction savings perhaps they can absorb some of the jet fuel price increases and continue to offer great fares!

Seat repair and window repair may have to be done on an aog basis, as do

aircraft fuel tank surveys and fuel tank repair and overhaul,leak repair...

TANK DEVILS LTD UK an Independant Company specialising in fuel systems and tank repair, despatch teams around the world to fix fuel leaks on a wide variety of aircraft types . In total, around 150 ‘tankies’ are on the Company’s books, ready to be called when required.

Leading the team is Managing Director Gary Cooper. Joining the RAF at 17, Gary spent his last five years in the RAF repairing Nimrod Fuel Tanks, before joining FRA Serco at Kinloss (Nimrod Major Servicing Unit) as a Tankie Fitter. Eventually, the idea for a niche service evolved – offering tank services to civil customers (FRA Bournemouth and Virgin Atlantic being the first). Gary moved to Bournemouth in 2000 as Fuel Project Manager help to start what is now known as Tank Devils. Following a Management buy out earlier this year Gary now aims to take what was a paper concept in 1999 to a world class provider of fuel services.

As Operations and Logistics Director Portia Betts ensures that AOG (Aircraft On Ground = emergency!) is organised and documented appropriately. Portia deals with personnel (including a bank of 150 sub-contract staff) and customer issues; reacting to customer and company needs on a 24 hour basis.

Portia’s job requires flexibility, both during and outside of normal working hours, (she mans the 24 hr AOG Line), to ensure the smooth operation of all transportation, accommodation and audit trails. She also ensures that Tank Team personnel achieve and adhere to ISO 9001 requirements and assists with the marketing of Tank Devils.

All agree that there is no typical day in TANK DEVILS. They operate 24/7 365 days a year. Everyday brings new customers and new aircraft types, which provide new challenges. They agree that the only thing typical about their days is that whatever plans you have made always change at the last minute. And the only guarantee is that it will be a long shift - currently averaging 14 hrs.

The team enjoy their work, never knowing what’s around the corner, what the day holds, but it provides a buzz of excitement. Gary comments that “working with the team I have, my job is a pleasure and I look forward to the next challenge."

One Tank Supervisor added that “I get an immense amount of satisfaction from my job as more often than not the team achieves something that many customers have attempted to fix and failed previously. Many customers now regard us as the answer to their fuel problems and call us before attempting the fix themselves. That gives the department a massive feel good factor”.

The team’s shared aim is to make “TANK DEVILS” not just the European leader in fuel tank repairs and associated work but the best in the world.