Boeing has an AOG team, which means "Airplane On Ground". As it was explained to me, airliners are a money generating machine for airlines. But only when they're flying. When they're sitting on the ground, they're a black hole sucking up buckets of cash.
The airline business model is therefore maximizing the percentage of time an airplane is in the air generating cash.
Boeing responds to this by expending a lot of design effort towards minimizing required maintenance, and making maintenance quick and easy to do.
But, sometimes, an airplane develops a fault that the airline mechanics cannot fix. Enter the AOG team. The AOG team is composed of the best engineers and mechanics, and they are on a moment's notice to fly anywhere and get that AOG back in the air ASAP.
I heard Microsoft has a similar team to go out and fix a customer's software. It's one reason Microsoft is able to sell expensive enterprise software in the face of free software. It's worth the money corporations pay to Microsoft to "come out and fix it!"
> I heard Microsoft has a similar team to go out and fix a customer's software.
About 20 years ago, they were called Rangers, modeled after the Army Rangers, soldiers who could venture out into enemy territory with no support and accomplish missions out there.
About 15 years ago, the program evolved into Microsoft Certified Masters, and it included both internal staff and specialized outside consultants. (I was one of about 200 MCMs worldwide for SQL Server.)
"X" only makes money when "X" is working is the case for most high-value assets whether it's an aircraft, ship, tugboat, other specialized heavy equipment, mainframe computer, or countless other things. Most manufacturers of this stuff have "go teams" that will fly out or express-ship parts, etc. it's part of why those things tend to be expensive.
The airline business model is therefore maximizing the percentage of time an airplane is in the air generating cash.
Boeing responds to this by expending a lot of design effort towards minimizing required maintenance, and making maintenance quick and easy to do.
But, sometimes, an airplane develops a fault that the airline mechanics cannot fix. Enter the AOG team. The AOG team is composed of the best engineers and mechanics, and they are on a moment's notice to fly anywhere and get that AOG back in the air ASAP.
I heard Microsoft has a similar team to go out and fix a customer's software. It's one reason Microsoft is able to sell expensive enterprise software in the face of free software. It's worth the money corporations pay to Microsoft to "come out and fix it!"