Predictive maintenance: new technologies serving efficiency in Aerospace

Air Traffic growth

Today, 3 billion people per year travel by plane… and this figure is set to triple by 2030! In a context of the exponential growth of air traffic and a highly competitive environment, airlines are facing big challenges, especially in terms of operations of maintenance costs. Indeed, the cost of a grounded aircraft can amount to an estimated $10,000 per hour. That is why Thales’s development teams are so invested in finding solutions to support our clients and help them make the most of their investments.

Digital transformation

Over the past three years, Thales has heavily invested in the four key technologies that make tomorrow possible today: Artifical Intelligence (AI), Big data, cybersecurity and connectivity.

Predictive maintenance is an emblematic example of the use of Big Data.

For instance, Thales has developed a new digital solution called PartEdge: the solution is an online spare part management system that offers airlines a direct access to Thales’s available stock from all around the world. The main advantage is the reduction of the time aircrafts spend on the ground, solving the airlines maintenance issues.   

AI in military avionics

During the ADS show (Aero Defence Support Show) held in september 2018in Bordeaux, France, Thales introduced its first predictive maintenance analytics and tool for electronic embedded systems on board the Rafale fighter aircraft. Tests have shown that the system is able to predict eight out of ten failures and, therefore, contribute to the fleet availability of military forces.  Thales plans to extend the system on board other military aircraft  and  helicopter and to develop an industrialized system for military applications in 2019.

Customer service is Thales’s priority

Finally, Thales’s concern is to provide airlines with technologies that enable them to optimize their equipment, reduce their operations costs, and focus on their core activity: passenger satisfaction.