Page 12 - Aircraft Interiors India -April-may 2024-fn

COVER STORY

time considerations. Airlines cabin upgrade it launches
should put aside around one a preliminary feasibility
year’s time starting from the discussion with external
proposed meeting with the partners, MROs, vendors
provider. For mor complicat- etc. The airline draws up a
ed cases requiring designing concept including –
of new seats or complex - Layout of Passen-
cabin upgrades can take up ger Accommodation (LOPA)
to three-years of time. - Rough Order of
Ideally airlines consider Magnitude (ROM)
cabin upgrades during - Due Dates
C-checks to leverage the - Available MRO and
downtime and minimise hangar slots
the operations impact. But During this exploratory
if the retrofit might take phase, the airline work with
longer than a month then it Airbus Upgrades Services on
is advisable to do it during the kits are delivered sequence and the associated defining the post-mod LOPA
winters or lull-periods in air When these SBs are final- job cards. long before the SB design
travel. ised and approved, they are The development, quali- can be finalised. Also known
delivered by Airbus to the fication, manufacture and as the “Aircraft Interior
It also depends of course MRO around one month be- delivery of new seat mod- Control Document” (AICD),
on the MRO availability in fore the first kits arrive from els – especially if an airline the LOPA is essentially the
terms of slots. Airbus’ dedicated logistics wants to have brand new engineering diagram which
The Service Bulletin au- centre in Hamburg, Finken- business class seats can outlines the aircraft’s cabin
thoring phase typically start werder, and the customer’s add up to 36 months to the interior which includes loca-
some six to nine months aircraft enters the working ‘critical path’ in terms of the tions of passenger and crew
before embodiment, during party hangar. This is the overall project planning and seats, emergency equip-
which Airbus is in close con- approximate time needed lead time. ment, lavatories, galleys and
tact with the customer to en- for the MROs production Preliminary groundwork for the exits.
sure no structural, systems planners and manufactur- the customer’s Requests for Many customers already
clashes or other ‘surprises’ ing engineers to study the Proposals (RFPs) have a good initial idea of
once the aircraft arrive and SBs and prepare the work Once the airline decides on what they want to imple-

12 April / May 2024 www.aircraftinteriorstoday.com