Our ADS-B Data Analyst, Paul Saupe, shares his thoughts on AviationValues’ Activity data and how this data can provide insight into an aircraft’s life.
Introduction
Our comprehensive database tracks the ADS-B signals for over 25,000 live Commercial Passenger Widebody and Narrowbody aircraft daily across the globe. This enables clients to monitor the utilisation patterns of each aircraft: its location, and flight history, and present an overview of its daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly operations.
These insights are all available via our Activity Pack. You can analyse any aircraft’s flight hours & cycles along with its routes flown, and how long it remains on the ground at its stoppage locations.
This information is a powerful portfolio management tool: you can easily see how an aircraft is being operated, monitoring compliance with no-fly locations, and whether it is being utilised to its full potential.
An operator’s typical first response to financial difficulty is to try to minimise its operational costs by limiting the aircraft’s flying. By keeping an eye out for unexpected changes in an aircraft’s activity, financiers and lessors get the benefit of early warning of heightened credit risk. And should things deteriorate, knowing the aircraft’s operational pattern and location is critical to planning a repossession.
Our Activity database provides you with all the information you need to make informed decisions, all readily available and up to date in an easy-to-use format, whenever required. The data is at your fingertips, saving you the hassle of making direct inquiries to the operator and with no risk of violating quiet enjoyment clauses.
In this article, we will outline how our Activity analytics can provide you with the data required to tell you the story of the aircraft’s life.
Power of Hours & Cycles Data
Hours and Cycles of an aircraft are a key part of indicating the life an aircraft has accrued, or how it’s currently being operated.
Our Hours & Cycles (H&C) tracking enables you to analyse whether an aircraft is being fully utilised, as well as determine what stage of life an aircraft is in. Our H&C product can help identify if an aircraft has had or is due maintenance checks based on hours flown or cycles, and whether an aircraft is parked or stored for a period of time. Our Operational Utilisation data based on the hours an aircraft has spent in the sky on a given day can tell you how an aircraft has or is being used throughout its life. All of these can be viewed on a daily or monthly basis and analysed over your own custom period.
Screenshot 1: Aggregated Monthly View
The screenshot above shows the life of an aircraft based on its flight hours and cycles. You can easily establish when the aircraft has been less active, which gives you the basis for raising queries if you deem it necessary with your operator as to the reasons why.
You can also delve into individual months to see a daily breakdown of what the aircraft has been doing. The data is available in both graphical and tabular format.
Screenshot 2: Daily View by Month
Screenshot 3: Hours & Cycles Table
The Flight Cycles column links to the actual routes flown to complete those cycles.
Screenshot 4: Routes Completed
Our Hours and Cycles are identified using our ADS-B powered Routes data. Hours are identified by using the start and end times of a route. Cycles are identified by completed routes (a takeoff and landing).
Stoppages and Routes
Our Stoppages and Routes data allows you to analyse the locations of each aircraft. You can easily understand the aircraft’s primary areas of operation, monitor for compliance with operating in sanctioned / high risk areas, and see how much time is spent operating in harsh environments.
Screenshot 5: Image of a Route Taken
AviationValues Routes provides completed route data along with the origin and destination. This data makes it easy to see how much time is spent on the ground, or operating into and out of, high temperature/high altitude locations, sandy environments, or high humidity/salty coastal areas. Prolonged exposure to these harsh environments has a considerable impact on the aircraft’s maintenance condition.
Stoppages
Our Stoppages data allows you to analyse the location and time an aircraft has spent on the ground, as well as the purpose. Whether the location is a passenger terminal, a maintenance facility, a freighter conversion site, or a boneyard, the Stoppages data enables insights into every major life event.
Screenshot 6: Image of a Stoppage
Activity Case Study: Proof in the Pudding
In 2018, VN-A227, an A321 operated by EVA Air, underwent its 6 year check. Its journey was fully tracked by our Activity Pack data:
Our Hours & Cycles product picked up a clear reduction in flight hours and cycles in October 2018.
Screenshot 7: Monthly Aggregated Flight Hours and Cycles
A daily view of that month shows the exact period the aircraft was on the ground: from 7th October until the 5th of November 2018. This period is in line with the expected turnaround time of a 6 year check.
Screenshot 8: Daily View of October 2018 Hours & Cycles
Screenshot 9: Daily View of November 2018 Hours & Cycles
Our Stoppage and Routes data can identify the flight and route taken on arrival. The aircraft flew from Kansai International Airport, arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on the 6th of October 2018 at 13:19 local time.
Screenshot 10: Route Taken for 6 Year Check
Our Stoppage data shows that the aircraft was on the ground for just over 4 weeks. As an EVA Air operated aircraft, we also know that EVA’s aircraft maintenance is handled by Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp (EGAT) which is located at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. This enables us to state with a high degree of confidence that the 6 year check was completed at this time.
Screenshot 11: Stoppage Details for 6 Year Check
Conclusion
Our Aircraft Activity product is a powerful risk management tool that supports your lending, investing, commercial, and operational endeavors.
It provides users instant access to an always up to date picture of what the aircraft is actually doing (and just as importantly, not doing), in an easy to use format.
Used as a standalone information source or in conjunction with our Base Values, Market Values, Forecast Values, Fleet and Deals databases, our daily updated Activity analytics offer unparalleled insight to support better decisions. For any queries, please get in touch.
Data as of November 2023.
Disclaimer: The purpose of this blog is to provide general information and not to provide advice or guidance in relation to particular circumstances. Readers should not make decisions in reliance on any statement or opinion contained in this blog.
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