“We were recently looking at how we can fully utilise data and analytics, and one thing we began to realize was, if for example an engine begins to start up later than normal, it’s an indicator that a starter valve is going to fail,” said British Airways CEO and Chairman Sean Doyle.
“And now we have a preemptive intervention—if a neo engine is starting up at six minutes rather than three, we replace the starter valves before we get an [aircraft on ground] and we’ve reduced aircraft downtime on that fleet by about 4% as a result.”
The flag ship carrier of the United Kingdom has an in-service fleet of 25 CFM Leap-powered A320neos and 15 Leap-powered A321neos, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database.
It comes as British Airways recently announced its £7 billion ($9 billion) transformation plan, outlining many initiatives ranging from digital upgrades to its website and app, to operational performance. While just around half of the overall investment is going into new aircraft, the other half is going into modernizing the airline, and this also includes investing in the people who will safely fly these magnificent machines to get passengers around the world.
At the airshow, the airline proudly announced a £21 million investment to give up to 200 prospective airline pilots the chance to follow their dream of flying for a commercial airline without the worry of self-funding the £100,000 cost of training, opening the door to being a commercial airline pilot to more people than ever before.
“We need to make sure that in a challenging environment—like Heathrow—that we run a much more intelligent and sophisticated operation than we have been doing,” Doyle said.
On top of these announcements, the airline also selected GE Aerospace’s GEnx-1B engine for six incoming Boeing 787s rather than its current engine partner on the widebody, Rolls-Royce.
“The GEnx engine is performing well with millions of reliable flight hours under wing and proven fuel efficiency and economics,” said a spokesperson for IAG. “This selection by IAG and British Airways affirms the confidence we have in the GEnx engine and 787 aircraft combination.”
The GEnx engine family has more than 56 million flight hours since entry into service in 2011 and is the fastest-selling, high-thrust engine in GE Aerospace history with nearly 3,000 engines in service and on backlog, including spares.
Will the elegance of once being the “World’s Favorite Airline” come back to greet passengers as they board the warm wood-effect non-textile flooring, which covers the length of the galley and forward to the lavatory and flight deck? Time shall tell but for now, these transformations are certainly a much required fresh breath of air.
