A parametric cost model for estimating civil aircraft line and base maintenance

The present work proposes a new parametric cost model in order to assess civil aircraft maintenance cost during the initial phase of aircraft design. The model focuses on defined maintenance activities, i.e. line and base maintenance, providing cost estimating relationships for the two cost items under study. The proposed cost model represents an updated alternative tool compared to the state-of-the-art models for civil aircraft maintenance costs estimation. It is based on current aircraft data provided by the International Air Transport Association and it may be useful to assess maintenance cost for new projects during aircraft conceptual design. The collinearity analysis is included in order to select independent cost drivers. The results of the developed model are in good accordance with other reference cost data provided by an independent source. The latter refer to aircraft models not considered in International Air Transport Association reports and adopting new technologies (such as composite structural materials) within their development. The analysis of the results obtained demonstrates that the application of proper corrective coefficients may lead to a maintenance cost estimation model for innovative aircraft configurations based on present architectures.