Hainan Airlines, headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China has become the first airline in the world to utilise Honeywell’s GoDirectMaintenance Service programme, which uses connectivity and data analytics to enhance maintenance operations and decrease equipment downtime.
HNA’s existing fleet of more than 50 Airbus A330s will be outfitted with Honeywell’s Connected Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) analytical maintenance service to enhance fleet availability by identifying possible involuntary issues or failures before they happen. Honeywell will also outfit HNA’s future fleet of more than 40 A330s with the same service, totalling more than 90 A330s using this Honeywell GoDirectMaintenance Service.
The Connected APU service works by using an existing data connection on the plane to download APU maintenance and fault data to foresee imminent hardware failures. Those failures are usually the utmost cause of APU interruptions. That fault data is then shared with Honeywell and analysed before being presented back to Hainan Airlines’ maintenance team. The data identifies what maintenance actions are required to fix the APU and avoid an unscheduled maintenance event.
“The business and passenger impact of Honeywell’s Connected APU service for Hainan Airlines is significant. Not only will the airline receive better and more predictive maintenance services that will reduce mechanical delays and cancellations, it will also improve first-time fix rate, reduce false removals and improve passenger experience,” said Brian Davis, vice president, Airlines, Asia Pacific, Honeywell Aerospace. “This is a monumental agreement not only for Honeywell and Hainan Airlines, but for the aerospace industry as it undergoes a digital transformation that’s opening up new forms of data-sharing and changing the industry as we know it.”
“We are committed to providing our customers with our unique five-star in-flight experience, whether that’s the ‘eastern-style’ services available or an on-time departure to one of our global locations,” said Xie Haoming, chairman of Hainan Airlines. “Honeywell’s GoDirectMaintenance Service helps us maintain this commitment by reducing APU downtime, keeping our planes in the air more often to do what we need them to do, which is getting passengers to their destinations safely and on time.”
As part of its suite of Connected Aircraft Services, Honeywell’s GoDirectMaintenance Services program will keep airline maintenance groups a step ahead of any possible issues, before they ground a plane, thereby reducing operational disruptions and costs.
“Only Honeywell has the ability to provide an exceptional, connected, end-to-end maintenance and repair service, coupled with rich field experience in aircraft operation and product utilization,” Davis said. “Our work with Hainan Airlines and the industry’s first Connected APU service will set the standard for a new era.”
