TACA Airlines selects the Mechtronix A320 FFS X

Case Study:
TACA Airlines
TACA’s base is San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador with
additional hubs in Costa Rica and Peru and it operates a fleet totaling 30
Airbus 319, 320 and 321 aircraft and nine Embraer 190s, with another two
planned to be in service by the end of 2011. It employs 456 pilots and serves
46 destinations across 22 countries but only recently did the airline decide
to move its pilot training in house with the purchase of a Mechtronix FFS-X
full-flight simulator which became operational in January 2010.
Armando Portillo is TACA’s Flight Training Manager and the first question
is the usual one. There’s a lot of options out there. Why did TACA choose
Mechtronix? “Mechtronix has already become part of the industry,” he says,
“and the process we chose was to look to the well known names. The price
had to be competitive of course, but we also looked at reliability, customer
support and the package itself, the possibility to change to different engines
and so on.
But what of the technology? Mechtronix built much of its reputation via the
company’s innovative approach to the technology of simulation, so was this any
factor in the decision making process? “We noticed the innovation, certainly,”
says Portillo, “we could see it was what had brought down the prices.” Did
you know that before you started looking or
TACA Airlines is the Central American
was it something you discovered during the
carrier twice recognized by Skytrax, one of evaluation? “No, we didn’t know at the time,”
the most respected world-wide passenger Portillo says, but this is the kind of information
that arrives by simple word of mouth. Portillo
airline surveys as the Best Airline for
talks about the visiting expert who was giving
Central America and the Caribbean, and
a QTG evaluation course to TACA, who in a
for its overall excellence of service.
conversation described Mechtronix as a ‘lead
changing agent in the industry because of the pioneering use of synthetic
instruments in place of original equipment aircraft hardware. “We know the
sim must perform like the aircraft,” says Portillo, “that’s a given, but the
way Mechtronix was using synthetic parts had to reduce the cost, both of
purchase and operation. The technicians who look after the machine can be
IT technicians rather than Avionics Engineers.”
“Other manufacturers have now invested in the same technology,” Portillo
adds, “…and it has brought the prices down everywhere, but because
they (Mechtronix) were a key changing agent, they clearly had a lead in the
market with the synthetic equipment and they will have more experience
in that kind of technology, that kind of solution. That knowledge gave
us more confidence… Quality of the product is expected at this level,”
concludes Portillo, “but maintenance costs and a complete customer
support package was.”
TACA’s FFS X™ A320 undergoing test at Mechtronix factory.
www.mwc.mechtronix.com
“We had a lot of feedback on the technical side,” Portillo continues, “but
we didn’t have a lot of experience as simulator operators, so we worked
with SENASA (Sociedad Estatal para las Enseñanzas Aeronaúticas, a
Spanish Aerospace training organization which is based in Madrid) to
understand more about simulator operation and with AESA (Agencia
Estatal de Seguridad Aérea, the Spanish Aviation Authority) for simulator
qualification. Portillo’s personal view however, is that customer support
remains the most important thing. “You are taking on the simulator
manufacturer as an operational partner. Both of us must have an interest
in getting the operation right.”
It begins to sound as if TACA had made up its mind before the tendering
process but Portillo says not. He says it was more a question of shortening
the list before making the final choice, “once we had a short list,” Portillo
continues, “we simply put it out to tender. All the players were based in a
hotel and the deal was that they had to negotiate during that time. Then
it came down to two out of four and the deal had to be done and signed
there and then. I think our management wanted to avoid a Dutch auction
which might have dragged on…” All of which makes it sound like a very
brief interlude. “No, it took several years to get to that point of negotiating
at the hotel,” says Portillo, But if the process took several years, what was
it that finally led TACA to go that route, to do its own training ? “You reach
a certain point when the airline has grown to a size where it just makes
sense,” explains Portillo. “A straightforward numbers thing is certainly part
of it. Most of these decisions are taken according to a strong financial
analysis, the numbers have to make sense . But you have to know that
the time is right in order to present the numbers to senior management
as well.”
Did the financing play any part in the decision? “Mechtronix did help
with the financing and we really appreciated that. It was the height of the
financial crisis and they were very pro-active. Very helpful. In the end we
were able to consolidate our own affairs and we arrived at the best solution.
You mention that you worked with the Spanish authorities rather than
the American FAA which is a great deal closer. Was that because of the
language ? Not Really,” says Portillo. “We looked for European JAA (Joint
Aviation Authority) standards because our local Authorities rely on them as
a guideline for local regulations.”
Surely though, the AAC (Autorida Aviacion Civil, the El Slvador Aviation
Authority) are the people who have to approve the device, and they must
be affiliated to the FAA ? “The El Salvador authorities are the main ones,
yes,” adds Portillo, “but AAC regulations are following EASA standard. In
addition, there were no regulations existing for simulator and simulator
operator qualifications and therefore, we fully cooperated in the AAC
decision to work with AESA and SENASA to make sure the simulator
qualification happened in an efficient and smooth way to both the operator
and the regulator.”
How easy was it to get the machine accepted, how quickly did that happen?
“Approval and certification took about a week and it was smooth but
obviously it took a great deal longer to prepare everything. Mechtronix were
a big part of that and we couldn’t have done it without them. We gained
level ‘D’ approval which is the highest level for a Full Flight Simulator. Has
the simulator made the difference you expected to TACAs training, and
to the business? “Before we bought the Full Flight simulator we had to
send our pilots all over the world for training. Wherever there was simulator
availability, all of our synthetic training aids had to be out-sourced, so it
has made a big difference. Technically, we are now very happy and the
Mechtronix simulator has brought the results on the business case originally
presented to upper management and its consequent expectations. We
have been able to reduce our training budget by 40% and we have also
integrated the simulator into the operational budget as well. That means
a pilot can fly a route to El Salvador as part of his job, do the training and
then fly back as part of his job. That has been an operational bonus.”
Mechtronix FFS X™ A320 cockpit interior
And have you been able to sell hours on the machine to other organizations?
“Yes. At the moment we have 63% utilization so we have spare capacity
and we still need to sell a few more hours. Before we had the simulator
we were sending pilots to wherever a sim was available, Orlando, Canada,
Miami, even to Amsterdam, so our power to negotiate was limited. The
time to buy was definitely right and we know it was the best decision.
Overall, how has it been for you ? “You mean the Mechtronix experience…
It’s been pretty good overall. There are still issues of course and we
sometimes get the impression that Mechtronix is a very laid-back
company… but we have had 98% availability with only 2% down time for
corrective maintenance.
Would you buy another simulator from Mechtronix? “We’d certainly consider
them. We have a bit more experience now, so we might be a bit more
thorough with the contract, but overall, yes, we are happy with it. I think it
is very good that Mechtronix is still driven by very innovative people.”
By Mark Hales
mark@markhales.com
Factoids
> 1931 Lowell Yerex, a New Zealand native,
established TACA in Honduras with one
single engine plane.
> Extending their reach, by the 1940s
By the
1940’s,
TACA
had an route
extensive
routethat
TACA
had an
extensive
network
network
that
almosttoday’s.
mirrors today’s
almost
mirror’s
© Mechtronix Systems Inc. November 2010
Interview date: October 2010
Contact Mechtronix for more information: info@mwc.mechtronix.com
> Accepting the challenge TACA
combined 5 airlines into one: AVIATECA,
LASCA, NICA and TACA.
> Today TACA continues
its sustainable expansion in
the Latin American region.
Roberto Kriete, President
and CEO,
TACA
Airlines.