A Customer-driven Future for the PW100 Engine Family
By Pratt & Whitney Customer Service
P&WC connects with PW100 operators in the growing regional aviation market through special events where customers can give feedback and discuss best practices. Here's the lowdown on two recent events.
Customers are helping to guide the future of the PW100.
Operators Attend First-ever Steering Committee Meeting
A dozen ATR aircraft operators from around the world descended on a Dublin hotel this past October for the first-ever meeting of P&WC's Technical Steering Committee. Their mission? To help shape the future of the PW100 engine family.
Handpicked to provide representation from a broad cross-section of regions, operating environments and mission profiles, these seasoned operators talked about everything from maintenance best practices to potential new engine hardware during two days of intensive, open-ended discussions.
"We wanted to hold a working group session with key PW100 operators so that they could share their experiences and work with us to define tomorrow's best practices. Their input will help us identify opportunities to evolve our engines and aftermarket services and solutions."
- DANIEL GAGNON, CUSTOMER MANAGER, PW100
PW100 Operators Share Recommendations
Organized with the support of airframer ATR and Irish carrier Stobart Air, the Technical Steering Committee collaborated to prepare for the meeting. Both operators and P&WC collected and documented data on subjects they wanted to talk about and worked on ways to ensure everyone at the table had a voice during the discussions.
One topic raised was engine defects caused by foreign object damage (FOD). PW100 operators expressed that current FOD limits could be modified to better reflect the realities of their business and help avoid aircraft on ground situations. This is an opportunity for both P&WC and customers to work on capturing the necessary field experience to support refinements to current maintenance recommendations.
As a result of the discussions, P&WC is looking at new ways of addressing FOD and other items covered. What's more, the outcomes of recommended actions put forward by the committee will feed future activities aimed at PW100 customers, such as training sessions and Customer Days, another activity aimed at connecting with PW100 operators.
“This is a group activity. There’s a mix of insights from all sides; solutions don’t necessarily come from us,” Daniel told Airtime. “The meeting also gave operators the chance to talk directly with each other and share their knowledge. It’s a good networking opportunity for them, providing a springboard for more connections and communications.”
The next step is to take the ideas from the meeting and put them into action. P&WC has drawn up a list of initiatives and will give operators quarterly updates on progress. We want to keep the process dynamic, notes Daniel.
"The Technical Steering Committee has tangible benefits to operators because the actions we take will help increase the availability of their aircraft. That provides them with bottom-line value."
- DANIEL GAGNON, CUSTOMER MANAGER, PW100
Hundreds Attend "Customer Days" Workshops
Regional aviation has been in growth mode for the past decade—especially in emerging aviation markets like Asia-Pacific and South America. Many new PW100 operators in these regions are eager for information and advice.
Participants to the Customer Day in Beijing brought PW100 operators from China, Taiwan and Mongolia together in the world’s biggest capital.
P&WC has responded by hosting six PW100 Customer Days around the world in 2017: three in the Asia-Pacific region and two in Africa, plus one in North America. Nearly 200 attendees took part in these workshop-style events designed for managers, line engineers and other maintenance technicians.
The most recent Customer Day in Beijing brought PW100 operators from China, Taiwan and Mongolia together in the world's biggest capital.
Field support representatives and other P&WC experts gave presentations and demos covering maintenance best practices, technical updates, reliability statistics and new customer service initiatives.
"The subjects presented during Customer Days are selected with operators' interests top of mind. We borrowed an engine from a local customer to use as a training aid during the practical demonstrations. The event also provides attendees with a platform to share their field experiences with other customers. "
- TERENCE TAN, CUSTOMER MANAGER, PW100/150, ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
Get on Board a Customer Day
Customer Days are ongoing. To find out where one is taking place near you, talk to a field support representative. P&WC's other outreach activities include webcasts, operator conferences and direct information aimed at building the PW100 community and providing operators with the most comprehensive, up-to-date information about their engines.
Read more about P&WC's efforts to support operators in emerging markets such as South America and Africa and the Middle East.
