ATW Daily News

Boeing GoldCare aims to take MRO, supply chain burden off 787 customers

Monday May 15, 2006

When Boeing begins delivering 787s to airlines in 2008, it expects to deliver something else as well: A total maintenance and supply chain solution that will permit operators to focus entirely on flying the airplane.GoldCare, the name of the product, will provide carriers with comprehensive line and base maintenance support, as well as supply chain management, on a cost-per-flight-hr. basis.

"We saw an opportunity for growth for ourselves but also an opportunity to bring a simpler business model to airlines that had an interest in it," said VP-787 Support & Services Bob Avery, who noted that currently Boeing "only plays in about 5% of the [aftermarket] and that market is just as big as the airplane market."

GoldCare itself consists of two branded offerings: Maintenance Services and Integrated Materials Management. A Dreamliner customer can select just the IMM portion, while the maintenance piece is included with IMM. Boeing already offers an IMM product that focuses on expendable parts; GoldCare adds rotables.

The airframer will not perform the actual line and base maintenance itself and is in the process of lining up service partners around the globe. It already has selected a European partner, whom Avery declined to name, and expects to choose "one to two" Asian MRO organizations and a North American supplier this year.

One of the most interesting aspects of GoldCare is that a customer avoids the traditional upfront investment in spares provisioning for a new aircraft type, since these are provided as they are needed on a cost-per-flight-hr. basis. "Airlines typically spend $1.5-$2.5 million per aircraft on provisioning," Avery told ATWOnline.

Overall, Boeing expects the 787 maintenance burden to be about 30% below that of the 767 in terms of the total cost of line, heavy and component maintenance. This is "primarily driven by longer check intervals, less work during each check, higher component reliability and use of composites," according to Avery.

by Perry Flint

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