MTU Maintenance, a global leader in customized solutions for aero engines, launches engine fleet management with CORTEX with customer LATAM Airlines. MTU’s new engine fleet management service combines the MRO specialist’s technical expertise with data, for example from engine trend monitoring, shop work scoping history and market understanding, with algorithms and artificial intelligence.
“There’s no way to achieve the optimum long-term planning strategy and in turn, large cost savings, without a complex and highly flexible instrument like CORTEX,” states Paulo Rimbano, director of engineering at LATAM. The tool CORTEX, the basis of this new service, is an intelligent maintenance costing and planning tool. It accommodates multiple financial, technical, operational, environmental and market considerations and generates accurate engine planning scenarios, including work scopes down to modular level across engine lifetime, at the click of a mouse. These scenarios are then reviewed by MTU’s engine experts and discussed with the customer to decide the best course of action for their fleet.
“Our new service reduces maintenance and operating cost and increases dispatch reliability for airlines. It is completely customizable, immediate and proactive. Such a tool is not currently available on the market today,” adds Martin Friis-Petersen, senior vice president MRO Programs. Furthermore, due to the recent pandemic, engine fleet planning is even more fluid than usual and variables are changing on a daily basis. “Airlines need a tool like CORTEX. Combined with MTU’s expert recommendations, they can then assess various scenarios and maximize the use of existing assets, for instance in a restart scenario, but also avoid unnecessary spend.”
“It creates a highly detailed and visualized plan for us to work with. And MTU has the engine knowledge and experience to manage the maintenance and shop visits. They can execute the plan and we trust them to do so,” Rimbano adds. MTU Maintenance is LATAM’s MRO partner of choice for its V2500 engine fleet. The two partners have enjoyed an over 20-year business relationship, with MTU Maintenance having performed over 250 shop visits under independent contract on the TAM Linhas Aereas (now part of LATAM) and LATAM fleet since 1999.
