Speaking of China and the airplane market in China… According to a new press release from Boeing and posted to PR Newswire, Air China and Air China Cargo will start using something called “Boeing’s Airplane Health Management (AHM) system.” AHM will cover 10 Boeing 777-200s and 17 Boeing 747-400s (7 of which are freighters with Air China Cargo).
Apparently, AHM is a system that monitors what’s going on with the plane while it’s in flight. I dunno, but doesn’t it seem to you that something should be in place to monitor the plane while it’s in flight by default? I love what the Air China Chief Engineer Zhong Detao says:
“We are certain that Boeing’s Airplane Health Management will benefit our passengers and cargo customers who count on Air China and Air China Cargo meeting our schedules”
Gosh, you think? I just hope it keeps the planes from falling out of the sky.
What does AHM do?
According to the press release:
Airplane Health Management captures and evaluates critical real-time in-flight flying condition data and relays the information to maintenance controllers. That allows the airline to turn a potentially time-consuming and costly maintenance delay into a well-planned and more easily accomplished repair. Airlines are better able to meet flight schedules, benefiting the airline, passengers and other cargo customers.
The AHM system helps airlines identify and respond to problems proactively while accessing a multiple operator knowledge base, so repair decisions are more reliable and the airplane is available for service more quickly.
Why isn’t something like that a standard feature?
It seems to me like most, if not all carriers, would stand to benefit from knowing information like that. The more I learn about the airplane business, the more there is to learn.
All I really want to do is fly though.
Photo Credit: PhillipC originally posted on Flickr
