AOG Version Eight
MIT Sloan School of Management
Time-Critical Management of AOG
(Airline on Ground) at Latin Airlines by Maria Soledad Jeria and Robert M. Freund
©Robert M. Freund
AOG
It is now 19:30 hours on Tuesday, January 13. The AOG (Airline on Ground) desk of the
Santiago Maintenance Center at Latin Airlines has just been informed that the aircraft CML19 has been designated AOG due to a thrust reverser failure. (The thrust reverser is comprised of two components: the support assembly and the transcowl, see Figure 1.) The support assembly of the thrust reverser on the left engine on the CML19 has failed, causing the AOG.
Support
Assembly
Transcowl
Figure 1: Pylon and Nacelle System
Aircraft CML19 is part of Latin Airlines’ fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft. (Each aircraft is assigned a unique identifier of three letters and two numerals.) When an aircraft is designated AOG, the aircraft is not airworthy and all flights assigned to that aircraft are cancelled until the problem(s) causing the AOG are solved. This is distressing to any airline company, since the gigantic cost of modern passenger aircraft (on the order of $100 million for long-haul aircraft) makes it too expensive to keep extra aircraft in reserve in case AOG situations arise. All passengers on all flights assigned to the aircraft must be re-booked to other flights at the airline (or on competitor airlines) and/or be enticed to voluntarily delay their travel plans (with free tickets on future flights), all resulting in revenue and reputation losses.
Latin Airlines
Latin Airlines (LAC) is the leading airline in Central/South America. With headquarters in
Santiago, Chile, LAC’s routes cover most of South America internationally, plus domestic routes in Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador. LAC also has a cargo division that operates six Boeing 767 cargo aircraft with a hub at Miami International Airport. LAC is part of the One World airline alliance that includes American Airlines (AA), Qantas, Iberia, and Japan Pacific
Time-Critical Management of AOG
(Airline on Ground) at Latin Airlines by Maria Soledad Jeria and Robert M. Freund
©Robert M. Freund
AOG
It is now 19:30 hours on Tuesday, January 13. The AOG (Airline on Ground) desk of the
Santiago Maintenance Center at Latin Airlines has just been informed that the aircraft CML19 has been designated AOG due to a thrust reverser failure. (The thrust reverser is comprised of two components: the support assembly and the transcowl, see Figure 1.) The support assembly of the thrust reverser on the left engine on the CML19 has failed, causing the AOG.
Support
Assembly
Transcowl
Figure 1: Pylon and Nacelle System
Aircraft CML19 is part of Latin Airlines’ fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft. (Each aircraft is assigned a unique identifier of three letters and two numerals.) When an aircraft is designated AOG, the aircraft is not airworthy and all flights assigned to that aircraft are cancelled until the problem(s) causing the AOG are solved. This is distressing to any airline company, since the gigantic cost of modern passenger aircraft (on the order of $100 million for long-haul aircraft) makes it too expensive to keep extra aircraft in reserve in case AOG situations arise. All passengers on all flights assigned to the aircraft must be re-booked to other flights at the airline (or on competitor airlines) and/or be enticed to voluntarily delay their travel plans (with free tickets on future flights), all resulting in revenue and reputation losses.
Latin Airlines
Latin Airlines (LAC) is the leading airline in Central/South America. With headquarters in
Santiago, Chile, LAC’s routes cover most of South America internationally, plus domestic routes in Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador. LAC also has a cargo division that operates six Boeing 767 cargo aircraft with a hub at Miami International Airport. LAC is part of the One World airline alliance that includes American Airlines (AA), Qantas, Iberia, and Japan Pacific