The Swiss-AS innovative initiative brings together Lufthansa Airlines and Eurowings Discover to establish a Business Group Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO).
Swiss-AS has announced that in a strategic move to enhance operational efficiency and streamline airworthiness management, the Lufthansa Group’s Technical Fleet Management has launched a groundbreaking project known as “BlueFins.” This innovative initiative brings together Lufthansa Airlines and Eurowings Discover to establish a Business Group Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO). This centralized entity will collectively oversee airworthiness management responsibilities for both airlines, operating under the umbrella of the Lufthansa German Airlines Technical Fleet Management business unit.
This groundbreaking development is a response to a new EASA regulation introduced in Q2 2022, which allows multiple Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders to share a single CAMO. The regulation was conceived as a joint effort between Airlines for Europe, a consortium of 16 leading European airlines, and the Lufthansa Group. The primary objective is to minimize redundant structures, streamline processes, and reduce organizational complexities. By implementing this new Business Group CAMO model, Lufthansa Airlines Technical Fleet Management can simplify its operational structure while capitalizing on the benefits of utilizing a single, industry-leading IT solution, AMOS, which already holds a prominent position as the leading CAMO and Part-145 software within the Lufthansa Group.
Eurowings Discover, a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, is a key participant in this initiative. To seamlessly integrate Eurowings Discover into the existing AMOS-centric ecosystem of Lufthansa Airlines, the fleet of 22 Eurowings Discover aircraft (comprising Airbus A320s and A330s) was migrated into AMOS on June 29, 2023. This migration elevates the total number of aircraft managed within AMOS to an impressive 325 across both airlines. This milestone also enables agile operational fleet transitions between Lufthansa Airlines and Eurowings Discover.
The adoption of AMOS as the primary IT system for airworthiness management and maintenance execution aligns with the overarching goals of process harmonization and organizational synergy within the affected hub airlines. Additionally, this transition to an off-the-shelf solution, like AMOS, is expected to yield significant cost savings in IT operation and maintenance, as legacy product suites are phased out.
The project’s successful execution within a remarkably short timeframe of six months is a testament to efficient project organization and staffing. The project was divided into three main sub-projects to address key areas of concern: Organizational Update, Management System, and Pricing & Performance. However, these sub-projects were adapted to accommodate specific variations related to each AOC when necessary.
A fully harmonized management system has been meticulously defined and implemented, establishing clear governance structures, responsibilities, and assignments across the Group CAMO.
The project also required a comprehensive overhaul of existing processes and training, an extension of the IT ecosystem, data migration, and meticulous go-live management. Each of these areas was handled by dedicated sub-project teams to ensure a smooth transition of the Eurowings Discover fleet into the AMOS-centric IT ecosystem of Lufthansa Airlines. The integration was designed to accommodate the additional AOC of Eurowings Discover within the group’s CAMO setup.
One of the critical challenges of this endeavor was the seamless migration of airworthiness data into AMOS. Swiss-AS, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, provided invaluable support with its data migration expertise. Their team collaborated closely with the airlines’ project teams to migrate meticulously aligned airworthiness data. This involved scripting, testing, data cleaning, and validation to ensure the highest data quality standards were met. Three comprehensive data migration rehearsals were conducted to validate the data quality before the final transition from the legacy system to AMOS. The outcome was a highly successful data migration with an exceptional level of data quality achieved.
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In conclusion, the BlueFins project represents a significant step forward in optimizing airworthiness management within the Lufthansa Group. By unifying airworthiness management responsibilities under a Business Group CAMO model and integrating Eurowings Discover into the AMOS ecosystem, the Lufthansa Group is poised to achieve enhanced operational efficiency, cost savings, and a harmonized approach to airworthiness management across its hub airlines. This initiative exemplifies the group’s commitment to innovation and excellence in the aviation industry.
