Dive Brief:
- Delta Air Lines entered a partnership with Airbus to use the jet manufacturer's Skywise platform to track data on its aircraft operations and component parts, Airbus announced Monday.
- The airline will use Skywise's predictive analytics capabilities to anticipate maintenance needs. "Skywise Predictive Maintenance enables them to turn unscheduled maintenance into scheduled maintenance," Airbus said.
- Airbus can use data from the platform to improve component designs in the future, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Dive Insight:
"Skywise is propelling the aviation industry to new levels of productivity and efficiency," said Airbus CEO Tom Enders in a press release.
Through the use of predictive analytics, Delta can recognize when an airplane or component will need maintenance well in advance of a major problem occurring. Since the cost of minor maintenance and upkeep is significantly lower than a major repair or even replacement of a part, Delta expects Skywise will help it tap into cost savings.
Anticipating these maintenance needs can also reduce downtime for an aircraft, which is particularly critical as passengers demand for air travel continues to soar.
The partnership is also a boon for Airbus, as it can tap into the data collected to pinpoint areas for improvement and leverage that information in future component design and construction.
Delta's use of Skywise is not its first foray into tracking and data to better manage its supply chain. The airline uses RFID to tag and track airplane parts, eliminating manual inventory tracking.
