StandardAero Business Aviation Brings FASTLANE™ Capabilities to European BizJet Operators

May 14, 2012
European business jet operators can get guaranteed core zone inspection (CZI) completion in 14 days or less. Industry averages currently range 30-40 days.

GENEVA, Switzerland – May 14, 2012 – StandardAero Business Aviation announced today the introduction of its FASTLANE™ program to European operators of TFE731-powered aircraft. Under the program, European business jet operators can get guaranteed core zone inspection (CZI) completion in 14 days or less. Industry averages currently range 30-40 days.

With StandardAero’s network of global partnerships, operators can bundle their engine MRO with other service events, taking advantage of StandardAero Business Aviation’s CompleteCare™ service offering without the added downtime and inconvenience of multiple service providers.

"By rolling out our FASTLANE™ program to the European mar ket, not only do we offer the region’s operators our reputation for quality, workmanship and cost, but also the unrivaled advantage of having their engine work done in half the time," said Scott Taylor, Senior Vice President, Business Aviation, StandardAero. "All of this, in addition to the opportunity of combining the engine event with other work such as avionics, results in huge cost savings for operators."

"Our vision for Business Aviation is to ensure a world class ‘total customer experience’ delivering a level of customer satisfaction second-to-none and serving as the industry benchmark for service quality," said Marc McGowan, Vice President, Business Development & Product Management, StandardAero. "Getting our customers flying again with minimal downtime reduces costs to our customers, enables maximum ass et utilization and provides them with a favorable, quality-driven customer experience. This helps them and it helps us; it is a win-win for both."

StandardAero Business Aviation’s FASTLANE™ program was initially launched in North America in 2009 announcing 14-day CZIs and six day major periodic inspections (MPIs).

FASTLANE™ is a strategic approach to engine MRO that correlates maintenance turnaround times with comprehensive fleet operating costs. FASTLANE™ CZI customers have reported that cutting shop time by 50 percent lowers operating costs for them. A combination of, replacement engine rental savings and added efficiencies of getting the service completed in a single visit resulted in savings of up to $50,000 in their operating budgets. For example, the speed of FASTLANE™ enables a CZI to be combined with an airframe inspection, to avoid costs such as extra engine removal and reinstallation. Saving the cost of removal and reinstallation of one engine for a Hawker 800XP represents savings of $8,088 plus $625 in materials per engine.

For almost 40 years, StandardAero has performed more TFE731 heavy maintenance events than any other company. This unique experience results in engine MRO best practices that maximize MRO factory performance and optimize engine reliability. FASTLANE™ is the result of total focus and total buy-in from all areas of StandardAero’s engine MRO factories. To maximize "hands on" time to expedite work-scope completion, StandardAero works three shifts, 24 hours a day, and uses advanced tools for optimal results. Innovative critical process changes in product velocity through the factory have dramatically reduced shop time without compromising product quality. The FASTLANE™ system assesses critical hardware exchange processes and incorporates exceptionally efficient parts procurement to ensure all the components, including critical long-lead items, needed for rapid turnaround are on hand.

Continuous improvement projects tied to the FASTLANE™ system are being run concurrently to analyze the process to identify risks and risk abatements, and to fine tune the process.