Australia’s national carrier Qantas Airlines said this week that it will make use of Boeing’s Airplane Health Management system, a software package that aids airlines in managing schedules when planes are called in for maintenance. Systems like this are surely set to be popular after Southwest’s $10 million plus lawsuit for missing maintenance tests.

Qantas said it would also use this system to deal with the deliveries of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners when the American superjumbo eventually hits the market. Qantas’ executive general manger of engineering David Cox says, “This system will help improve our 747-400 maintenance operations and greatly assist in meeting our customers’ expectations for punctuality and serviceability.”

While Boeing’s vice president of sales and marketing Dan Da Silva says, “Qantas demonstrates a strong commitment for efficiency with the decision to subscribe to AHM to monitor its 747-400 fleet. In addition, the use of AHM on its 747 fleet will increase Qantas’ experience with the system, which will also be used for the 787.”

www.qantas.com.au