CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

12 December 2005

Implementation Investments

Lufthansa Airlines Selects PTC Arbortext® to Create Flight Operation Manuals; Electronic Distribution of Manuals Saves Airline $1 Million In First Year

PTC announced that Lufthansa Airlines is using Arbortext EditorT as the dynamic publishing system to support the creation and quarterly publication of its flight operation manuals to 4,500 pilots operating eight air fleets. As a result, Lufthansa has developed an innovative strategy to automate the assembly and publishing of its flight manuals saving them an estimated $1 million during the first year.

Aircraft documentation includes everything necessary to operate, service and maintain each aircraft. Sometimes amounting to well over 100,000 pages, each set of aircraft-specific information must be continually maintained to reflect its current status. Without complete and up-to-date information, aircraft are not allowed off the ground. Because each aircraft represents a multimillion-dollar investment, every extra hour on the ground costs tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. That's why it's crucial for pilots and mechanics to quickly locate information-the faster aircraft checks and maintenance can be performed, the faster the plane is back in the air. Lufthansa selected PTC Arbortext solutions because it enabled them to implement process improvements to enhance productivity, reduce costs and allow pilots and mechanics to focus on the aircraft rather than spending time searching for information.

PTC's dynamic publishing solutions are well suited to solve these challenges. Lufthansa uses Arbortext Editor as the cornerstone of their dynamic publishing system. Specifically, Arbortext Editor enables content reuse by creating information once that can be stored in either a file system or a content management system. As a result, authors will not waste time recreating content that currently exists, ultimately increasing accuracy and reducing review cycles. Automatically publishing dynamic information to multiple audiences insures that pilots and mechanics have accurate documentation on demand. These capabilities are delivered in a cohesive system, which translates into improved information quality and reduces the time an aircraft spends out of service.

"With Lufthansa Systems and its high level of competence, we now have established the worldwide first JAR OPS compatible solution for Flight Ops Documentation," said Udo Friedrich, Director of Flight Ops Engineering at Lufthansa Airlines. "It improves our competitiveness in the air traffic market while continually reducing our costs."

"The traditional method of creating and delivering aircraft documentation has been inefficient, costly and time-consuming," said PG Bartlett, vice president product management for Arbortext products, PTC. "Our solutions address the unique requirements of this industry and enable airlines to manage large-scale, on-demand, dynamic publishing across a number of audiences. We're excited to work with Lufthansa as they standardize on a fast, automated process to create and publish aircraft documentation."

Arbortext solutions are in place at many airlines and aircraft manufacturers, including Aermacchi, Airbus, Alenia Aerospace, Alitalia, Boeing, Bombardier, British Aerospace, Cessna, Delta, Finnair, Gulfstream, Harris, Lufthansa, Qantas, Saab Aircraft, Saab Aerospace, Skywest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG ranks upfront among the world's leading airlines. As an Aviation Group, Lufthansa adheres firmly to economic and strategic criteria, focusing on the core competencies of its six business areas: passenger traffic, logistics, MRO, catering, leisure travel, and IT services. The Group attaches overriding importance to quality and innovation, safety and reliability.

PTC solutions for dynamic publishing enable companies to automate the assembly and publishing of product or service information in multiple languages and formats. These solutions are made up of the Arbortext product family and are used by 30% of Fortune 500 companies in the manufacturing, life sciences, publishing, government, insurance and financial services industries.

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