Expedited shipping of critical parts such as bearings and O-rings needed for cargo loading equipment
A gold-medal performance in keeping flights on time
At the Olympics and other sporting events, a Collins Aerospace team helps airlines stay on schedule
Air France had a big challenge ahead: making sure thousands of athletes and spectators from around the world arrived in Paris safely and on time for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Recognizing the extent of the task – and seeing an opportunity to help – Collins Aerospace proposed an idea: A team of specialists from across the business would work from several locations across the world to make sure none of the Collins products in the Air France fleet caused a delay or cancellation.
“Our approach was to ensure availability of components and services that were critical to airline operations,“ said Rebeca Romero, a senior manager at Collins who oversees performance of the business’ products in the Air France fleet.
The project demonstrated Collins’ ability to reduce the risk of flight delays and cancellations through advanced planning techniques that maintain healthy stock levels of critical replacement parts. Collins, an RTX business, used a similar approach to help Qatar Airways during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Getting ready for the Games
The preparation for Paris began in May 2024, when the team of 21 Collins employees worked with Air France to create a “critical parts list.”
That process included:
- analyzing stock levels and available inventory
- noting where parts were and how they would be shipped to their destination
- mitigating potential roadblocks
The prep work with Air France “was essential to success,” said Matt Wheeler, director of Customer and Account Management for Aftermarket Customer and Product Support at Collins. “It took months in advance to get inventory levels as healthy as possible.”
It also paid off: Not a single Collins-made part caused a flight delay, he said.
“The nature of airline operations is very dynamic, as there are a variety of challenges that could emerge every day,” Romero said. “Having the opportunity to collaborate in solving issues is a fantastic job.”
Getting the planes to the Games
Twenty-one employees from across Collins Aerospace helped Air France flights stay on time during the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Here are some of the ways they helped keep the fleet in shape:
Dispatched maintenance teams to service nacelles
Sent experts to assess a third-party vendor’s performance in deep-cleaning cabin interiors
Expedited delivery of heat-shield blankets to meet regulatory deadlines and ensure aircraft readiness
Throughout the Games, the Collins team members met daily to review the critical parts list and customer concerns. Romero was on-site at customer facilities in the Paris metro region, with Charles de Gaulle Airport being the main hub of activity, as the rest of the team was working remotely from within Europe and the United States.
“It was a total team effort from every business unit in Collins,” Wheeler said. “We wanted perfect execution.”
Through their time in Paris, Collins showed that proper planning can prevent unnecessary flight cancellations – an idea that, if applied across commercial air travel, could keep far more flights on schedule every year for airlines.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” Wheeler said.
“The nature of airline operations is very dynamic, as there are a variety of challenges that could emerge every day. Having the opportunity to collaborate in solving issues is a fantastic job.”
Rebeca Romero | Air France KLM Performance Program Manager | Collins Aerospace
