INTERIOR OUTLOOK
Last year Kuehne + Nagel made a strong play for the logistics of aircraft interiors when it launched KN InteriorChain, an integrated offering
aiming at both the production and the aftermarket refurbishment elements. This modular service includes supplier order management,
multi-modal transportation and warehousing, as well as services like kitting, packaging and disposal.
Air Partner. “It can be anything from a couple of bolts to complete
engine moves.”
Airlines’ sense of urgency to have grounded aircraft back
in service as fast as possible has intensifi ed since the European
authorities changed compensation legislation that directs how
much they have to pay to affl icted passengers and how soon, Hill
points out.
EU Flight compensation Regulation 261 mandates that airlines
have to pay compensation of €250 to €600, depending on the
fl ight distance, for delays over three hours, fl ight cancellations or
denial of boarding through overbooking.
Under the previous regulations airlines would often bus
passengers to other airports, but the three hour window now
usually renders this impossible, so carriers are anxious to have the
problem resolved as quickly as possible, adds Hill.
Speed and reliability are of the essence for forwarders who
want to play in this game. QCS has a desk open round the clock in
Frankfurt to manage AOGs and on-board courier (OBC) activities
across Germany. The response time is about 15 minutes for any
incoming AOG message.
For some urgent engine moves, charters can be the only option,
but on the whole they do not fi gure very prominently. “A lot of
forwarders specialise in aerospace but have never done a charter.
Usually the next fl ight out works for them,” remarks Hill.
Air Partner was the fi rst of the major brokers to add OBC service
to its portfolio, which has since become pretty much universal in
the charter fi eld.
Tanguy Largeau, Head of Vertical Market Aerospace at DB
Schenker, fi nds that OBC works well, especially if there are issues
with the shipment clearance at destination. On the other hand,
it is quite expensive and limited in the types of cargo that can be
moved by a courier.
Being able to deliver critical parts airside is a strong advantage,
remarks Haltmayer, whose company has airside access at most
German airports. For example, it runs a daily airside delivery of
spares at Berlin’s Brandenburg airport for a British carrier, shuttling
them in from Berlin Tempelhof airport.
orders and repair orders and
status documents but also to
assess how logistics providers
support aerospace companies
in controlling their supply
chain,” he affi rms.
“The customer wants
transparency, he wants a fast
quote and he wants to be
informed proactively,” adds
Haltmayer.
Most airlines look for their
logistics provider to take care
of both AOGs and regular
maintenance. QCS runs daily
truck shuttles from Frankfurt
to Geneva, Brussels and Paris
to move aircraft spares. “You
need to cover both, including
storage or parts and immediate
delivery for certain carriers,”
Haltmayer points out.
Some airlines still keep
their internal logistics
in-house, but many have
embraced outsourcing with a
vengeance. “A lot of airlines
turn to turnkey services.
Their inventory pool is taken
care of by the maintenance
provider or the airframe
manufacturers,” observes
Largeau.
Aloia Aerospace, a
Brazilian company that
focusses on outsourcing
specialist aerospace spares,
recently pushed further into
the European market with
the establishment of a parts
facility. To that end, it signed a
three-year contract with B&H
to manage its warehousing,
handling and inventory from
its facility in London. Parts are
dispatched to Aloia’s clients
through B&H’s IT system.
Hill points out that logistics
fi rms have to make sure their
subcontractors are up to speed,
especially when it comes
to more intricate jobs like
moving aircraft engines. The
complexity of moving aircraft
Wing section delivery presents no problem for
carriers such as Volga-Dnepr
A lot of
forwarders
specialise in
aerospace but
have never done
a charter
Mike Hill, Director, Group Freight,
Air Partner
The advance of digitisation
Visibility is also of critical
importance. UK-based
aerospace logistics specialist
B&H Worldwide launched
a fully Web-based, new
generation tracking system
last year. Designed in house
over an 18 month period, the
system utilises architecture
programme interfaces to
communicate within the
application as well as with
external sources.
Largeau notes that the
advance of digitisation in
the logistics industry is an
important development to
serve the aerospace vertical.
“The industry itself is
getting more digitised, relies
more on technology. This
is used to capture purchase
www.airlogisticsinternational.com October 2019 37
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