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Honeywell has extended its agreements with GoAir, for the installation and maintenance of 131-9A Auxiliary Power Units (APU) on ten more of the airline’s new Airbus A320 aircraft to provide auxiliary power and reduced operational costs.
The agreement, which will see Honeywell install the new APUs between 2012 and 2014, builds on the company’s existing ten-unit APU contract with GoAir, and puts it in charge of APU maintenance across the entire GoAir A320 fleet until 2018.
“India is a significant high growth area for Honeywell, as carriers look to improve their reputations for customer comfort and safety, while keeping costs at a minimum,” said John Ashton, VP airlines EMEAI, Honeywell Aerospace. “We have more than 50 years’ experience in the development of APUs and are harnessing this understanding to provide GoAir with a critical technology that simultaneously delivers robust performance, increased APU life, and easy maintainability for a lower cost of operation and ownership.”
Designed specifically to match the requirements of narrow body air transport aircraft like the Airbus A319, A320 and A321, Honeywell’s 131-9A Series APU will save GoAir up to 3.4 per cent fuel burn and provide a 10 per cent power advantage over other APUs, allowing it to cool or heat the cabin two minutes faster. In addition, GoAir has de-rated a majority of the APUs on its existing fleet to deliver reduced fuel consumption through Environmental Control System performance adjustments. This inbuilt option provides a total fuel burn benefit of 4.5 per cent, per aircraft duty cycle, over its original settings.
“As passenger demand for our flights increases, our number one priority is to ensure we continue to offer value for money, while also equipping our aircraft with the most competitive technology around,” said Babu Peter, executive vice president of engineering, GoAir. “Honeywell’s APUs help us enhance power generation and main engine start performance to support in-cabin systems and faster engine start up, as well as reduce fuel burn to generate savings we can pass on to customers.”
The 131-9A APU will start and operate from ground level to 41,000 feet, delivering 154 pounds of air per minute at 52 pounds-per-square-inch for environmental control systems and main engine starting. Its generator is capable of supplying full electrical power for the aircraft in the event of an emergency.
The 131-9 series incorporates new technologies and design improvements to increase reliability, maintainability and performance. Should a unit fail, all in-line replaceable components in the 131-9 family can be removed and replaced in the field in 15 minutes or less. To date, more than 100 airlines worldwide have selected the 131-9 family for over 1,980 current and future commercial aircraft orders, making it the leading choice for airlines in India and worldwide running single-aisle commercial transport aircraft.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
