In the cabin, curtains are used as partitions between classes and galleys. In addition, curtains are also used in the crew rest area. The number of curtains varies by aircraft type, but the Boeing 787, which has the most curtains installed, has a total of 38 curtains per aircraft. The curtains are cleaned regularly, but those that are not in good condition, such as those with broken parts or damaged threads, are discarded after cleaning. The maintenance department took the initiative to start repairing the curtains by themselves to see if it would be possible to reduce the amount of waste.

There were many difficulties before the repair of the curtains could begin. For about a year, Mr. Ichikawa, Mr. Kunitake, and Ms. Arai of the ANA Engineering & Maintenance Center, who were in charge of the project, collected about 200 curtains that were determined to be discarded after cleaning, and in addition to investigating the cause of discard, they closely examined each one to see if repair was possible and identified trends in defects. As a result, they found that about 80% of the damaged curtains could be repaired. Research and acquisition of materials for repair took a great deal of time, requiring coordination with aircraft manufacturers, curtain makers, and parts manufacturers. They also purchased a new industrial sewing machine and trained four mechanics on how to use it to perform the repairs. Since the type and number of curtains vary by aircraft type, they first started with Airbus A320, Airbus A321, and Boeing 777 (excluding some specifications), and in April 2024, they started some of the curtains of the Boeing 787, ANA's top-owned aircraft fleet. Since approximately half of the discarded curtains are from Boeing 787s, significant effects of curtain repair are expected in the future.

In FY2019, before the spread of COVID-19, about 600 cabin curtains were disposed of annually, but after we started repairing cabin curtains from July 2023 to April 2024, within 10 months, we were able to reduce the volume by about 100 curtains. From April 2024, we started repairing a portion of the Boeing 787 cabin curtains and it is expected to further reduce the volume of waste.

We interviewed Mr. Ichikawa, Mr. Kunitake, and Ms. Arai of the ANA Engineering & Maintenance Center.

Please tell us about the difficulties in introducing curtain repair

To repair the cabin curtains, we in the maintenance department coordinated with the aircraft manufacturer, prepared a procedure manual for the mechanics to use, and researched parts for repair. It also took time to coordinate with internal and external parties, such as reviewing inspection methods after cleaning, procuring repair parts, purchasing industrial sewing machines, and having mechanics learn how to operate the machines. We are grateful for the cooperation of many people, both inside and outside the company, who made the curtain repairs possible.

Please tell us about your outlook for the future

The Boeing 787, for which we have recently begun repairs, has many types of curtains, but since we have only started some of them, we hope to expand to more types of curtains in the future. In addition to curtains, many parts are used in aircraft. We would like to work on the SDGs by paying attention to whether any of the familiar parts that we inspect every day are still being discarded even though they are still usable.