When an airline gets a new aircraft,
this means high responsibility and fun for the pilots involved.
Even a rather small passenger jet will cost $ 50 million.
Missed bugs can be expensive,
and the manufacturer hands the aircraft over only when the purchase price has been paid in full.
At the Airbus factory in Hamburg currently almost every day ...
... a new airliner is finally assembled and delivered.
Germanwings is one of the larger customers here.
A delegation has arrived to accept a new jet.
NEW FROM THE FACTORY - THE ACCEPTANCE OF AN AIRLINER
The Airbus A 319 is a best seller.
The German airline has already almost 30 aircraft of this type in its fleet.
Now there will be another one.
We now get a new aircraft. The whole company is excited,
the pilots who may fly the new aircraft,
passengers, whom we can offer a wonderful new product -
with the latest technology, also as far as environmental protection is concerned -
and so we are curious to see how the aircraft proves in everyday operation.
The acceptance of the new aircraft will take a few days.
The schedule is tight, but all personnel know each other from previous deliveries and know what to do.
The airliner is already awaited eagerly.
Hello. Welcome to Hamburg.
It is important for me that we follow the time schedule.
That is to say: Today the technician should inspect the landing gear.
Then: the engines ...
... open all cowlings again.
Should we inspect the landing gear bays, too, when we are working there anyway?
Inspect them, too? Yes exactly. OK.
For us it is very important that such an acceptance runs smoothly and quickly ...
... that the quality is good, so you do not need to rework.
Because we expect a quick acceptance process ...
... and a smooth transition into the everyday operation.
Jürgen Stasch and his colleagues follow extensive checklists.
Most obvious are the inspections of landing gear, empennage and engines.
It is important that we check the air inlet for damages and deformations,
because Airbus already did a test flight with the aircraft,
and that there are no damages to the fan blades, caused by aspirated foreign objects ...
... or that the acoustic panel - these blue dingbats here - do not have any damage.
The engines are the most expensive parts of an aircraft.
With leaks so far we have never had any problems,
but nevertheless all the lines and connections have to be checked -
especially after the engine has been running already.
After the technical acceptance it is all about the money.
Only when the aircraft is paid in full, the pilots are allowed to take-off in Hamburg.
We are now awaiting the transfer of the money, and then we will be able ...
... to sign the sales contract as aircraft owners.
We have already discussed and agreed on the details.
So now we have to wait for the crucial call - to confirm the transfer of the money.
In the meantime, you could already sign the acceptance papers.
As soon as we get the call, we will be able to sign the bill of sale.
So then the aircraft is yours.
The money has been paid at 4:30, so it should come at any moment.
The decisive factor is the call of the bank.
The bank is located in New York, and there they just open the doors in these minutes.
Everyone just has to be patient.
Airbus. Hello.
Yes, have a nice day, too.
Yes. Could you please say again the amount.
Yes. Very good. Many thanks. Goodbye.
Alright. That was the reliefing call.
Good. Then we only have to sign the bill of sale -
and that means the transfer of all rights to you.
The aircraft will cost some $ 50 million according to the list price.
But discounts of up to 30 percent and even more are common for good customers.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Many Happy Landings. Thank you.
Of course we are very pleased that we have now bought the 27th aircraft from Airbus.
We will get another two later this year.
The aircraft will now be transferred to Cologne and then enter into operation.
On the day of the ferry flight.
The airline wants the new aircraft to be flown to its home base at Cologne-Bonn airport as soon as possible.
Last settings have to be made, for example those of the cabin lights.
The cabin lighting must be adapted to the ambient light.
That means, for flights during daytime, there will be bright illumination.
For night flights, the cabin light shoul be dimmed, especially for the landings.
Thus, should we really have to evacuate the aircraft in an emergency situation,
the eyes quickly adapt to the brightness outside.
The two pilots continue with the checks of lights.
The airline wants the A 319 to enter into service quickly.
How quickly, the pilots don´t guess.
Jürgen, we start with the strobe lights.
Everything is okay. The pilots are relaxed and go through their checklists.
Taxi light OK!
Runway turn-off light.
The pilots are happy. And also another "detail" the manufacturer has already taken care of.
For the flight home, the pilots do not even have to refuel.
We have ordered 6 tons of fuel from Airbus, and it is already refueled ...
... and evenly distributed on both wing tanks.
Everything looks like easy.
This acceptance is not like an adventure, as you might have expected.
This aircraft has been flown by Airbus test pilots twice.
A specific test program has been executed.
Minor issues have been solved, and only then the customer gets the aircraft.
Then a surprising call.
That were our headquarts in Cologne.
They´ve asked when we come to Cologne because today, because they intend to ...
use the aircraft on a scheduled flight this evening.
Therefore, we accelerate our process here a bit ...
... and then fly to Cologne immediately, as soon as the papers are there.
And then the aircraft already goes into service.
Must earn money, the new baby.
There is no reason why the aircraft shouldn´t go into service the same day already.
The aircraft has been checked thoroughly.
Without losing any time, the pilots let the new airliner being towed to the apron.
There they want to complete the final preparations.
But basically, the aircraft is ready for operation already.
The assembly of an Airbus A 319 from the making of the first small part ...
... to delivery takes about nine months.
The final assembly itself takes only a few days to complete.
Peter Tötz works as a supervisor on behalf of the airline.
He accompanies the assembly process,
so that bugs can be solved at an early stage.
I check if the insulation has been installed correctly.
Whether cables are fixed correctly.
It is important that the insulation will be installed correctly.
Normally I find only small issues.
For example, I give the advice to attach a cable somewhere else.
Peter Tötz does the job for ten years.
He knows the art of the aircraft well and knows on which items he has to pay particular attention.
Hello.
Hi.
Somehow been something special?
No difficulties.
No problems?
Could you please come over?
The cover of the duct here - could you please tighten the clamp a little bit?
It´s slack.
Could you please do it right now? I´ll check it in a minute.
Usually these are simple things that Peter Tötz complains about.
The clamp has not been tightened enough.
So the cover is slack.
It shouldn´t be that way.
It could be possible that the cover disengages sometime, and then we've got a loss of fresh air.
If the customer complains something then he should mark the corresponding part with a red tape.
Then the technicians knwo there is something that has to be fixed.
Please have a look.
Ready?
Alright. There you go.
Peter Tötz obviously likes working in the aircraft factory.
And having so much responsibility is apparently not a problem for the 55-year-old German.
Yes, it's kind of a childhood dream for me.
Since I was 14 I have to do with planes, and then it become my profession actually.
Surely you sometimes ask yourself, wouldn´t you like sitting on the captain´s seat -
maybe make the pilot's license?
At the end Peter Tötz preferred to stay on the ground.
Now he doesn´t fly passenger jets himself, but he knows them better than the pilots.
Anticorrosion already applied?
Yes. Everything looks good.
OK, let´s check some of the highlights.
The inspection of freshly assembled aircraft parts is not always easy. Fitness is required.
You must be agile.
There are inspections - for example the connection of the wing to the fuselage ...
... where I have to check the riveting, or where you have to crawl into the tank.
Then it can easily happen that you may get a leg cramp,
because you have to make some unusual moves.
So you have to be somewhat flexible.
The control of the vertical fin doesn´t require bad contortions.
Here he checks the cable connections as a possible source of errors.
There are some vibrations on this plane - this is just normal.
So in a worst case scenario that connection could loosen.
then the circuit could get interrupted,
and the final step could be a radio failure.
Hamburg has been a good place for aviation since decades.
The Airbus factory is located on the grounds of the Hamburger Flugzeugbau, founded in 1936,
which had been established for the construction of seaplanes.
In today's Airbus plant there are two production lines for the final assembly of the A320 family.
The cockpit of the A 319 is equipped here, too.
Countless cable connections are made and checked -
for example, of the landing gear.
Landing gear is deployed. Doors are open.
Levers are on "open" position.
Yes. Flap levers are on "open".
Landing gear areas are secured.
During the check, possible errors are displayed immediately.
Because the landing gear normally is not retractable on the ground,
the technician conducts a special simulation program.
Now we simulate flight.
The work of Peter Tötz contributes to ensure that the customers get a safe aircraft.
Meanwhile, the cabin side panels are mounted.
Now follow the trays, and then the seat rows to be installed.
156 seats in Economy Class -
Tötz will check them too - on behalf of its airline.
If you compare it to today morning, you can see that the cabin fitting has been progressing quickly.
A lot has been happening.
Peter Tötz is happy with the progress.
After the aircraft has left this plant,
Airbus probably won´t see the aircraft again.
But we have to get along with the aircraft every day, and so of course we want to have a pain-free plane.
And a beautiful one.
Therefore, the A 319 gets its makeup after the final assembly.
This takes one week.
After priming the surface, all colour borders are taped.
So, then we do now "Burgundy".
Now the paint is shaken, so that we have no sediment.
For the passenger jet some hundred pounds of paint is required.
After having mixed the right colour, hardener is added.
There are some chemicals in the game. The painters must wear respirators.
When you come back from holidays you realize that the odors are extreme here.
Before the paint is applied to the fuselage,
the spray guns have to be adjusted.
The amount of paint is defined by the customer and is a real cost factor.
Beauty is expensive.
We make sure that we have exactly 130 milliliters in 30 seconds.
This means that the viscosity is right, and we apply just the right amount of paint,
which is necessary for the first layer.
Ready to go.
Attack!
For a uniform layer of paint several painters work at the same time.
Applying one layer takes just ten minutes.
Then, the paint must dry for 13 hours.
After seven days, the painters have finished their job.
The new Airbus will leave the Hamburg factory soon and enter into operation even today.
It's a very special moment to accept a brand new aircraft from Airbus.
If you walk in here and realize how brand new everything smells - the leather.
That's like when you buy a new car and take a seat for the first time - that´s about the same.
But before the departure, some things still have to be done.
Now the table is cleaned and made free of grease, because here we fix our onboard checklist ...
... that we use every day.
It says for all flight phases, which switches we have to use in the cockpit.
The pilots have considerable space in the cockpit of the A 319 and are supported by sophisticated systems.
But not everything they need has already been applied by the manufacturer.
Each aircraft is equipped with its own cellphone,
so that we can call our crews during the turnaround,
and so that the crews can make calls when they need something.
The phone will always be placed here - on the left side of the captain.
And each aircraft has its own brush,
so that one can remove the dirt of the joints.
Now only missing the freshly printed safety instructions for the seat pockets.
Then the cabin is ready.
Are you ready? Almost finished. Everything wonderful.
All documents in the boxes? Yes, everything there.
I still have to make a few cabins items. Then we're done.
How long does it take? About an hour - then we can go.
The two pilots are experienced, they have been on duty for decades.
To accept a brand new aircraft and transfer it home,
to them still is always a great feeling.
It's always a huge event.
You can smell how new it is. The seats aren´t worn out.
The doors have been closed, and the engines are started up.
Representatives of the manufacturer have come to wave goodbye.
Here, they won´t see the aircraft again.
During the take-off run, the aircraft accelerates extraordinary fast today.
With considerably less than 50 tons, the A 319 is very light.
There are no passengers and only little fuel.
Consequently, the cruising altitude is reached rapidly, too.
Possibly the aircraft will never fly again so light.
One notices that the aircraft is brand new.
It responds to the control inputs very directly.
And of course we have a crazy power surplus, because we are so light.
If you do not have guests on board and no luggage, then the performance is accordingly really good.
The flight takes just 40 minutes.
The landing follows the normal procedures.
Shortly before touchdown a computer voice automatically announces the altitude in feet.
100
50
40
30
20
Retard!
There weren´t any problems during the ferry flight of the A 319.
Now the new aircraft must prove its reliability every day.