Jetrader - November/December 2013 - 20

Financiers and the

Digital Airplane
How maintenance technologies are evolving with new-model
airplanes, and why financiers and lessors should care

T

"The volume and complexity of data available today that make
airline operations successful can put a ﬁnancier right to sleep,"
said Boeing Capital Corp. executive Kostya Zolotusky in describing
how some in ﬁnancing and leasing view the maintenance-related
data advancements on current- and new-model commercial jets.
Zolotusky, who serves as managing director of capital markets
development and leasing for the airplane builder's leasing and
ﬁnancing arm, said it's not that the ﬁnancial community doesn't
care about the aircraft maintenance revolution; it's just the opposite. They expect the manufacturers to advance maintainability
and reliability along with other product improvements.
Boeing's opportunity comes in helping ﬁnanciers and lessors
see the value that the voluminous data ﬂowing from today's
"digital" airframes and systems can provide.
"We have long talked about the fact that aircraft ﬁnancing
is becoming much more reliant on the quality of the collateral
(meaning aircraft) and that deals are really structured around
the airline credit and the plane's merits," Zolotusky said. "The
value of an airplane is its market value minus the maintenance

condition. Maintenance condition can't do anything to improve
a plane's value, but it certainly can detract from it, and it's a
risk that every ﬁnancier manages."
He describes the company's current emphasis, along with
maintaining its reputation as a premier provider of day-to-day
operational services, as one of being an evangelist for the new
maintenance data tools and systems that, in his words, "will
allow the aircraft ﬁnanciers a greater degree of transparency and
control of their assets."

'All About Planning'
As any jetliner operator or lessor knows all too well, the
industry's bread and butter activity revolves around transitions-
moving airplane assets from one operator to another.
"In the mind of a lessor, transitioning is all about planning,"
said John Feren, executive vice president, global strategy for
Newport Beach, Calif.-based lessor, Aviation Capital Group, who's
responsible for managing ACG's manufacturer relationships and is
a former longtime Douglas and Boeing airplane executive.

The 'Electric' Airplane - The flow of digital data from a new-model Boeing airplane is
depicted in this Boeing artist's concept. Compared to the Boeing 777 family of airplanes
first delivered in the 1990s, today's new 787 Dreamliner has 27 times the data flow from
its onboard systems. It enables operators to monitor and track many more maintenance and
other activities, for example, an airplane's structural history. (Boeing graphic)

20 The ofﬁcial publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

Boeing's Maintenance App - An airplane
maintenance tech is seen here operating
an iPad mobile device containing a suite of
applications providing immediate planeside
access to manuals, part numbers and other
critical maintenance information. Boeing
unveiled the new maintenance apps recently
after a year-long development program as part
of its comprehensive "Boeing Edge" brand of
commercial aviation services. (Boeing photo)
Jetrader - November/December 2013

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