Did you know? Daher teams work on half of all A350 XWB cabins. From component assembly, preparation and installation through quality inspection and final presentation to the airline customer, Daher offers a comprehensive business model that is unique in today’s market.
“The provision of services generates 50% of Daher’s revenue, with the company focusing on three main business sectors: industrial logistics, industrial services and supply chain services. The fact that Daher also is a manufacturer itself partly explains why and how the company provides customers with tangible added value across all these sectors. Commercial aircraft interiors – one of our major areas of industrial services expertise, where we fit and adjust structural components at our customers’ production sites – is a perfect illustration of this capability,” explains Gabriel Girardin, Sales Director – Services.
Girardin noted that Daher is the only company in the market to offer a comprehensive business model for aircraft interiors. “We take full responsibility for the entire process, from managing the logistics hubs where the individual components (such as seats, galleys and floor coverings) are delivered from our suppliers, stored and prepared, right through to the final assembly line and customer inspection/acceptance, including scheduling, procurement, assembly, missing parts processing, installation, quality inspection, etc.”
He added that Daher even provides on-site replacement, repair and other support services for certain suppliers. “If a part is missing or damaged, it’s our responsibility,” Girardin explained. “The fact that we have full control of the entire process chain by exploiting valuable synergies between our teams considerably limits the risk and makes us very efficient.”
Cabins play an increasingly important role in airline passenger appeal. Therefore, quality and on-time delivery are key to success. The operational excellence of Daher teams makes the Group a key partner for aircraft manufacturers and through-life maintenance customers, who know they can rely on its unique expertise to meet the many challenges of creating commercial aircraft interiors.
Organizational challenges
At Station 40 of the Airbus A350 final assembly line in Toulouse, France, Operations Leader Julien Thomas ensures that operations run smoothly and on schedule. Inside the cabin, a dozen or so technicians methodically work on their respective and sequential tasks. The end customer – usually an airline – prepares a specification for the overall cabin scheme detailing the layout of seats, partitions and facilities for the specified number of passengers, as well as the options, interior design treatment and general look requested.
“The aircraft arrived this morning with a completely bare cabin, simply equipped with insulation blankets, while the ‘monuments’ – the industry term we use for such elements as the galleys, closets and partitions – are not in their final installed location. We have between eight and 10 days to cover the floors, walls and ceilings, install the monuments and facilities (lavatories, galleys, overhead baggage compartments, etc.), make the connections and hook-ups for water, air and power, and fit some of the seats. We’ve made a start by covering the floors with a protective layer on which the carpet will be laid. The customer will now visit this afternoon to check that the flooring is fully compliant with the specification at this stage.”
This is only the first of many scheduled pre-delivery inspections during which the customer will verify not only that its specifications are fully complied with in every respect, but will also scrutinize the smallest details to identify any potential defects. “The golden rule of this business is planning ahead, working meticulously, achieving high quality… and a versatility of skills! The skills required to create interiors are scarce and specialized, so everyone must be able to carry out as many types of task as possible. It’s a world of constant change in which products, technologies and customers are never the same twice.”
Our Aircraft Interiors services: Key points
From design to development, production, end-to-end supply chain management and after-sales services, Daher leverages a combination of unique expertise with full control of the value chain to meet the challenges of its customers, and to offer turnkey solutions:
- Flow management through to production lines;
- Cabin interiors (initial installation, as well as upgrades);
- Solution development, manufacture and installation for flooring, insulation blankets, cargo nets and air distribution systems;
- Through-life maintenance.