News

Line maintenance intervals increased for CRJ700/705/900 NextGens and Q400s

July 17, 2009

Bombardier Aerospace has announced that adjustments to line maintenance intervals for the CRJ700/705/900 NextGen and Q400 aircraft have received final approval from Transport Canada (TC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as part of the approval of the Maintenance Requirements Manuals (MRM) for these aircraft.

Bombardier has used a methodology which combines a statistical approach with actual maintenance check findings to confidently predict maintenance requirements. Under the
former process, changes to aircraft maintenance intervals could only be requested following five years of in-service data. Now, maintenance interval adjustments could be set based on as few as two years of successful results.

“With this achievement, Bombardier has played a pivotal role in the development of new regulatory guidelines for the evolution and optimization of maintenance programs, and it is another example of innovation by Bombardier Commercial Aircraft’s Customer Services and Support team,” declared Todd Young, vice-president, Customer Services and Support, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

“This certification paves the way for the revision of maintenance schedules on other Bombardier aircraft programmes in the future as we work in close partnership with our customers to make continuous improvements in their ownership experience,” added Young.

To attain the line maintenance interval adjustment on the CRJ700/705/900 NextGen and Q400
aircraft, Bombardier established a reliability reporting system (a database that tracked factors
such as dispatch reliability and unscheduled removals) over a two-year period based on input
from longtime customers such as Tyrolean Airways (Austrian Airlines Group) and Flybe.