Case Study - ExpressJet

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ExpressJet Airlines implements AuRA™ to manage maintenance and reliability of its 260 plus aircraft fleet

SUMMARY

ExpressJet recently implemented Miro Technologies’ AuRA™ system to manage maintenance of its 260 plus regional jets, build foundation for eventual improved efficiency, contain inventory costs, provide better financial reporting, and maintain the reliability of operations.

CHALLENGES

ExpressJet Airlines, Inc., based in Houston, operates as Continental Express, the regional jet provider for Continental Airlines. Since its IPO more than three years ago, ExpressJet has quickly grown to become one of the largest regional airlines in the world and currently operates a fleet of 260 plus jets. In order to accommodate this dramatic growth and assist in the transformation of ExpressJet to a publicly traded company, ExpressJet needed a modern, integrated maintenance and supply management solution to replace an aging legacy system. Additionally, ExpressJet believed a new MRO software system could make significant contributions toward containing maintenance and inventory costs and maintaining the reliability of operations.

“ExpressJet built its reputation on reliability, and, to ensure that we remain the industry leader in this regard, we must have highly effective maintenance and repair processes and systems in place,” said Jim Nides, VP Flight Operations & Maintenance of ExpressJet.

SOLUTION

After conducting a thorough analysis of modern systems that could support the planned expansion, ExpressJet chose Miro Technologies’ AuRA solution. AuRA is a comprehensive, fully integrated MRO solution, covering all the aspects of both maintenance and supply. AuRA also can provide better audit trails for inventory unit pricing and financial reporting, one of the main reasons ExpressJet considered other systems and wanted to move away from its prior inventory system.

Go teams from Miro worked with ExpressJet on the gap analysis and the subsequent phased implementation, which considered the airline’s existing business processes and input from subject matter experts on both sides. Miro stationed an experienced, full time project manager onsite in Houston to serve as a key member of the implementation team and, ultimately, on the AuRA Steering Committee recently established by ExpressJet.

RESULTS

The full AuRA suite went live at ExpressJet in July, 2005. Over 1,500 active users to support more than 260 aircraft at 15 bases now use AuRA. Over 100,000 tasks are now tracked in AuRA, with over 8,000 transactions written daily to the database and approximately 300 installs/removals daily. Commenting on the recent implementation of Miro’s AuRA MRO software, Dale Darcy, Staff V.P. Maintenance at ExpressJet Airlines said, “ExpressJet’s launch of AuRA is a significant milestone for our company and our entire maintenance organization. Our ability to track the maintenance, components and inventory for a fleet of 260 plus aircraft that fly over 1,400 flights each day is a testament to the capabilities and integration nature of the software.”

Although various business and system processes are still being ironed out, ExpressJet believes that once AuRA stabilizes through this final implementation phase, it will be able to rely on AuRA for ensuring airworthiness and optimal flight availability throughout the equipment’s life cycle. Additionally, ExpressJet, through continuing partnership with Miro, believes that AuRA will provide total asset visibility with tools for end item configuration management, repair management and recording, inventory and material management, materials replenishment and asset tracking. AuRA can enable ExpressJet aircraft maintenance technicians to be more efficient, it will also help operators to tackle complex challenges such as comprehensive configuration management, work order execution, equipment/part reliability and advanced technical records management and task management.