AOG Desk

The aviation industry relies on airplanes getting from point A to point B as safely and as on schedule as possible, thus the importance of support systems and teams like AOG Desk. Most airline carriers have an AOG Desk that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. AOG Desk services are important for the aviation industry as those serve to minimize an aircraft’s grounded time. Grounded commercial airplanes lose money and cause disgruntled customers for the airline, and of course, prevention and efficient solutions are imperative since airline carriers have to look out for their customers’ satisfaction.

AOG Desk Services

Aircraft on Ground or AOG Desk support goes into action once an aircraft experiences technical failure while airborne or a problem that may affect its performance is detected on it while it is still on the ground. An efficient AOG desk support team can minimize an aircraft’s time on the ground, thereby minimizing the losses an airline company can incur during those instances. Losses due to AOG situations have been estimated to be an US $150,000.

A problem serious enough to ground an airplane may involve damaged or malfunctioning parts, and may require an AOG desk to send maintenance personnel and parts to the location of the airplane if it is not in its home station where the parts and personnel are readily available. An airline carrier’s AOG desk services will work closely with the manufacturer’s AOG desk and then with competing carriers’ AOG desk services to replace the broken part and put the plane back in working order. AOG desk personnel are allowed to loan parts from other carriers as allowed by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency).

How AOG Desk works

Once a problem is detected (trouble with the communication system, a leak, or power loss), whether the plane is in the air or before a scheduled flight, the problem is forwarded to the AOG desk services. The problem is then diagnosed – whether a part needs to be replaced or just repaired – and taken care of as quickly as possible. An AOG team at a different location will need to communicate and work closely with the AOG desk at the main base, and ensure that the part or maintenance is done efficiently to prevent more delays and worse yet, flight cancellations.

The effectiveness of an AOG support group ensures that AOG situations are short and handled with the utmost precision and efficiency. Communication between on-site AOG and headquarters AOG desk, in addition to the logistics (like finding and sending the needed parts to the technician) in the background, is important in order to do this. Of course, in order to resolve an AOG situation as quickly as possible, both sides would have to determine the problem so the right part and personnel can be sent accordingly.

Considering how expensive it is for an airline carrier to have an airplane out of commission, even temporarily, it is important for them to have an effective AOG desk that can work well with other companies’ AOG desk services. The less time the plane spends “AOG” the more effective the support team is and the less money the airline carrier losses.