With the advent of the 787 Dreamliner, touted as a “flying WiFi hotspot” chock full of useful data that will be passed along to airline maintenance and engineering departments, Boeing has an opportunity to revamp the way airliners are maintained. What if an airline could transfer its huge maintenance and engineering burden to Boeing and focus on its primary function of moving people around?
That concept is at the heart of Boeing’s GoldCare service, which allows airlines to select from a menu of three burden-relieving options. A full GoldCare package would include maintenance, engineering and materials (parts and consumables). Airlines can select any two of those options when signing up for GoldCare, as long as engineering is one of them. Some airlines may opt for only one of the three, but then that won’t be a GoldCare package.
German airline group TUI has selected GoldCare for four of its operations that have ordered the 787. The TUI package includes the entire GoldCare package except for line maintenance and covers 13 airplanes over a 12-year period (to coincide with the 787’s heavy check interval).
