AOG management that gets a grounded aircraft its part hours sooner, with every part's paperwork checked before it is bought
Grounded aircraft flying hours sooner, every part’s paperwork checked before purchase.
See one case, screen by screen ↓AOG management software runs the work of an airline's AOG desk when an aircraft is on ground for a part. In AOG Parts Sourcing, seven agents ask every source at once, check fit against your parts catalog and the release paperwork before a quote is shown, price each route with the hours the aircraft waits, and book the next flight out. The AOG desk buyer asks back, approves and signs the purchase order.
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AOG management today is an AOG desk buyer on the phone. When maintenance control declares an aircraft on ground, the buyer checks own stock station by station, then calls and emails pools, brokers, the manufacturer and partner airlines one at a time. Replies come back in hours and in different formats, and they are compared in a spreadsheet on price — not on price plus the hours the aircraft keeps waiting. Then come the purchase order, the approval chased at night, a seat on the next flight out and the calls to keep maintenance control's estimated time of return current.
The risk sits in what nobody had time to check. The free spare in your own stores is the wrong dash number. The cheaper broker unit arrives a day later and cancels tonight's long-haul flight. The FAA Form 8130-3 is read only at receiving, where the missing trace to the last operator or non-incident statement is found after the part has flown in — and the aircraft waits again. Afterwards the core goes back late, and the AOG cost is never recorded, so the desk never learns which source really costs least.
Estimated split of a 9.8-hour AOG event, the demo airline's median when worked by hand, by hand and with the solution, in hours.
Seven agents ask every source at once, check fit and paperwork, price the grounded hours and ship the part; the AOG buyer approves.
Thursday, Oct 15. Corvane Airways' 787-9 N827CV arrived at Boston as CV 40 from London at 07:18. An anti-ice status message came up on arrival, and the ops test found the left engine nacelle anti-ice valve failed closed. Tonight's CV 41 to London, 21:30 with 274 passengers, needs the valve at the aircraft by 17:30. Here is what happens next in the working solution, screen by screen: the agents ask, check and price; the AOG desk buyer asks them back in plain words, approves and signs.
Renee's Today screen says 3 aircraft are grounded and N827CV at BOS is waiting for her approval — every hour costs $18,000. Below it, one step each: a core to Aerolink Spares 2 days late at $400 so far, with a return label ready, and a beyond-economical-repair charge of $11,800 the core agent says the pool should pay. On the right, a box to ask the agents about any grounded aircraft, part, supplier or core, and what they did this morning, each line with its source.
“Agents recommend the MIA pool unit: at the aircraft 15:20, $122,200 in all, CV 41 to London stays on time.”
Victor Salgado declared AOG at 07:52; the fit agent confirmed there is no MEL relief, because the valve cannot be secured open and icing is forecast on CV 41's track. At 07:55 the sourcing agent asked 14 sources in parallel. By 08:18 six had answered, and each is drawn as a route into the grounded tail: the Miami pool at 6 hours, a broker exchange in Wichita at 19, new from the manufacturer at 31 — and three that cannot be used.
Our ORD spare: “Fit failed — dash -2 does not fit.” Halcyon Aero Parts: “Held — paperwork incomplete.” Bayline Airways: “Declined — spare committed.”
Each route is priced as the quote plus the hours until the part is at the aircraft, at Finance's grounded-hour cost. The Miami pool unit is $14,200 + 6 h × $18,000 = $122,200. The Wichita broker is $4,400 cheaper on paper but $351,800 in all, and the manufacturer's new unit $619,500. The coordinator recommends Miami, 92% confident: $229,600 less than the next route, and CV 41 departs on time. When Renee moves the grounded-hour cost to try a what-if, the cost agent re-prices every route in the conversation and notes that Finance's $18,000 stays on the record.
“MIA stays the lowest total unless a grounded hour costs less than $340; below that, ICT would win.”
Renee challenges the recommendation in plain words, and the coordinator answers with its sources. The ORD unit is a -2; the parts catalog allows -4 to replace -3, but not -2 unless SB 787-30-0057 is done, and N827CV does not have it. Asked about the cheaper broker, it shows that unit arriving 13 hours later and CV 41 canceled. Told to “Ask Aerolink to beat 6 hours”, the sourcing agent asks — and Aerolink's earliest is still 04:20 Friday.
“It would arrive in 4 hours on CV 1220 and then could not be installed. I left it off the routes.”
Halcyon Aero Parts quoted $7,900 for an “overhauled” -3. The trace agent read its FAA Form 8130-3 the moment it arrived: the repair station certificate number in block 4 is illegible, block 12 cites a work order rather than a component maintenance manual, and there is no trace to the last operator and no non-incident statement. Four checks failed, so the quote is held for the materials manager. From here Renee can ask Halcyon for the missing paperwork or report a suspected unapproved part.
“Checked at 08:19 by the trace agent, before the quote reached you.”
The coordinator drafted PO-26-48213 to Meridian Component Pool under pool agreement PA-POOL-2214: the -4 valve, S/N NAV-61842, $14,200 exchange, freight as company material on CV 1904 at $0, and the failed valve due back within 10 days of receipt, by Oct 25, at $150 a day late. It is within her $25,000 limit. Renee picks reason C1 — lowest total cost, counting grounded hours — and signs.
“The agents never place an order. Approving sends the order to the supplier and asks the logistics agent to book the shipment.”
The logistics agent books the valve as company material on CV 1904: Skyrunner Courier to the Miami cargo counter by 10:30, departure 11:40, arrival BOS 14:52, a runner to the aircraft by 15:20, where Kyle Brennan receives it. Before booking it checked that the valve is not dangerous goods, that both legs are domestic, that CV 1904 has its 45 kg belly slot, and that the certificate copy travels with the part.
Fallback: “If CV 1904 is more than 2 hours late, an on-board courier on the 12:55 from FLL beats it (+$2,900). The coordinator asks you before switching.”
Maintenance control sees one timeline shared with the OCC: AOG declared, the recommendation, the approval, the booking. The estimated return to service is 18:20 — part at the aircraft 15:20 plus 3 hours to install and test — and CV 41 with 274 booked is on time. Only Victor can change the ETR. The AOG cost record runs beside it: $14,200 part, $0 freight, an estimated 10 h 28 min grounded at $188,400.
“Booked on CV 1904 MIA–BOS. Estimated return to service 18:20. CV 41 BOS–LHR 21:30 on time.”
The core agent opens the core return for the failed valve, S/N NAV-58117, to Meridian, due Oct 25. Across the fleet it tracks 7 open cores against their exchange terms, reminds stores at 5 and 2 days, and has a dispute ready for the air data probe Meridian calls beyond economical repair at $11,800. Late fees this quarter: $1,150, against $6,400 in Q2.
The audit trail lists every step by people and agents with its source: the AOG call, the MEL check, the 14 requests, the fit ruling, the held quote, the cost run, Renee's signed approval with reason C1, the booking and the ETR. It cannot be edited and is kept 7 years. Sandra can ask the agents about any entry or tail from the same screen — “What did the agents do on N827CV?” — and one click exports the evidence pack for N827CV for Quality.
“Signed entries carry name, time and meaning.”
The same grounded aircraft, seen by five of the people who get it flying — what an AOG looked like before, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents ask every source at once, check fit and paperwork, price the grounded hours and ship the part; the AOG buyer approves.
Plans each AOG event from the maintenance controller's call, runs the other six agents, ranks every route by total cost, recommends one with its confidence, answers the buyer with sources and re-plans when a leg slips.
Checks the part and dash number against the parts catalog's interchangeability and the tail's configuration, and reads the MEL to confirm the aircraft really is AOG.
Asks own stores, pools, brokers, the manufacturer and partner airlines in parallel — through pool portals, the parts marketplace, supplier email and Spec 2000 orders — and puts every reply in the same form.
Reads each FAA Form 8130-3 or EASA Form 1, the trace chain and the non-incident statement as the quote arrives, matches part and serial numbers to the quote, checks the suspected unapproved parts list, and holds any quote that fails.
Prices each route as the quote and freight plus the hours until the part is at the aircraft times the grounded-hour cost, with the flights it saves or loses.
Books company material on your own flights, a courier or counter-to-counter; checks dangerous goods and border legs; watches every milestone and names a fallback.
Tracks every core to its exchange supplier against the agreement's due date and fees, warns before a fee, drafts disputes with the clause cited, and writes the AOG cost record when the event closes.
Approves the order; the materials manager above $25,000. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask about any tail, part, supplier or core — or tell the agents what to do. Every answer points to its source, and every action is logged under your name.
Why is the MIA pool unit recommended for N827CV?
Because it costs least counting the grounded hours: $14,200 plus 6 hours at $18,000 is $122,200, against $351,800 for the cheaper broker exchange that arrives at 04:20 Friday. It reaches the aircraft at 15:20 on CV 1904, so CV 41 to London stays on time, and its dual release certificate passed every check.
Which quotes were held for paperwork this week, and why?
One, today: Halcyon Aero Parts, valve S/N HV-18822, $7,900 — no trace to the last operator, no non-incident statement and an unreadable repair station number. It is their third hold in 90 days; the supplier stays on watch.
Ship every core that is due within 4 days
Created return labels for C-26-0927, C-26-0921 and C-26-0914 — Skyrunner picks up at 14:00 today. That stops the $200 a day on C-26-0914 and keeps the others inside their terms. Logged under your name.
How much faster are we getting a first quote this quarter?
Median time to the first comparable quote is 23 minutes in Q3, against 2 h 10 min by hand in Q2, before the agents; median time grounded fell from 9.6 to 8.1 hours across 54 events.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
Approval limits, paperwork rules, logistics rules and grounded-hour costs are settings. Every change is on the audit trail, and every route re-prices when a cost changes.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| AOG desk buyer approves alone up to | $25,000 | Step up or down, $5,000 at a time |
| Materials manager approves up to | $100,000 — above it, the Director of Materials | Step up or down, $25,000 at a time |
| Release certificate required | On, locked | FAA 8130-3, EASA Form 1, or manufacturer release for new parts |
| Non-incident statement and trace for used parts | On, locked | Missing either holds the quote for the materials manager |
| Prefer accredited distributors | On | On · Off — AC 00-56 accreditation ranks a quote higher when totals are close |
| Use own flights when they arrive no later than a courier | On | On · Off — company material on your own flights |
| Re-plan when a leg slips by more than | 30 min | 10 to 120 minutes, in steps of 10 |
| Grounded-hour cost by type | 787-9 $18,000 | 777-300ER $21,000 · A350-900 $19,500 · A321neo $11,500 · 737-8 $10,500 · A320 $9,800 — approved by Finance |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (Boeing, via Wikipedia “Aircraft on ground”, $10,000–$20,000 for a one- to two-hour AOG and up to $150,000 an hour; IATA and Oliver Wyman supply-chain report, Oct 2025, $3.1B extra maintenance cost and $1.4B to hold extra spare-parts inventory in 2025). FAA Form 8130-3, EASA Form 1, FAA Form 8120-11, 14 CFR 21.9, FAA AC 20-62E, AC 00-56 and ATA Spec 2000 are named as context. People named on this page are characters in the working solution; Corvane Airways and every supplier shown are fictional.
AOG management software runs the work of an airline's AOG desk when an aircraft is on ground for a part. In AOG Parts Sourcing, seven agents ask every source at once, check fit against your parts catalog and the release paperwork before a quote is shown, price each route with the hours the aircraft waits, and book the next flight out. The AOG desk buyer asks back, approves and signs the purchase order.
Boeing has put a one- to two-hour AOG at $10,000 to $20,000, and the hourly cost as high as $150,000 depending on type and route. In the solution the grounded-hour cost is your own figure per aircraft type, approved by Finance — $18,000 for a 787-9 in the demo — and every route re-prices when it changes.
It removes the waiting between steps: every source is asked in parallel instead of one call at a time, paperwork and fit are checked as quotes arrive instead of at receiving, the order is drafted for one signature, and the logistics agent books the next flight out and keeps maintenance control's ETR live. The design goal is two hours off each AOG event.
The trace agent requires a release certificate — FAA Form 8130-3, EASA Form 1, or the manufacturer's release for a new part — and, for a used part, the trace to the last operator and a non-incident statement. It also matches part and serial numbers to the quote and checks the suspected unapproved parts list. A quote that fails is held for the materials manager. In the US, 14 CFR 21.9 and FAA AC 20-62E describe which replacement parts are eligible for installation; these checks prepare receiving inspection and Quality, they do not replace them.
Yes. The fit agent checks the part and dash number against your parts catalog's interchangeability and the tail's configuration, and reads the MEL to confirm the aircraft really is AOG. In the demo it rules out an own-stock -2 valve that may not replace a -3 without a service bulletin the aircraft does not have.
When a part comes on an exchange, the core agent tracks the removed unit — the core — against its exchange agreement's due date and late fee, reminds stores at 5 and 2 days, creates return labels in bulk and drafts disputes for beyond-economical-repair charges with the agreement clause cited. It writes the AOG cost record — part, freight, grounded hours, flights saved — when the event closes.
Yes. The agents never sign, buy, release a held quote, change the ETR or install anything. The AOG desk buyer approves with a reason code and an electronic signature up to $25,000, the materials manager above it, and only the maintenance controller changes the ETR.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your materials procedures, parts catalogs, MEL, pool and exchange agreements and the systems behind your stores, purchasing and flights — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own past AOG events first.
No tail flies past an AD, and every line of the status report is proven.
1-min demoService Bulletin EvaluationEvery bulletin decided in days on the fleet’s own evidence, every tail and dollar cited.
1-min demoDeferred Defect ManagementNo aircraft flies past its MEL limit, and every fix lands on a planned overnight.
1-min demoWe'll run AOG Parts Sourcing on a sample of your own past AOG events, sources and certificates.