Rolls-Royce (www.rolls-royce.com) has opened its new engine services Airline Aircraft Availability Centre (AAAC) in Derby.

Using industry-leading data analytics, this plans engine operations and maintenance, thereby ensuring efficiency in an industry where a 1% fuel saving can be worth $250,000 per aircraft per year and an out-of-service aircraft can cost an airline thousands of dollars a day.

Rolls-Royce already monitors thousands of engines across the world, and an aircraft powered by its engines takes off or lands every 16sec. By monitoring the data transmitted from these engines, Rolls-Royce can have the right parts and people available to maximise aircraft availability.

The centre will also be a hub for the introduction of new technologies. For example, a new real-time collaboration system lets engineers working on engines around the world share live pictures from inside an engine with the team at the AAAC, in order to receive advice on the next steps to take.

In addition, “remote surgery” techniques will let experts at the centre carry out complex engineering tasks on the engine by remote control.