In mid-April 2026, DASH Aero, RH Aero and Austrian Airlines ran the first on-wing test of a new steam cleaning unit for the auxiliary power unit, on an Austrian Airlines Airbus A320 in Vienna.
The trial covered the APU air inlet, the inlet plenum and the APU compartment. It paired the DASH Aero cleaning procedure with tooling developed and built by RH Aero. RH Aero reports that the unit is validated for the A320 family and listed in the Airbus Aircraft Maintenance Manual.
Who did what
- RH Aero developed and industrialized the equipment, and handles its distribution and support.
- DASH Aero contributed the cleaning procedure and what it has learned from cleaning APUs on aircraft in service.
- Austrian Airlines provided the aircraft, the technical evaluation and the on-wing feedback.
What Austrian Airlines said
The results were highly convincing: The system demonstrated superior effectiveness in removing contamination, while also offering notable advantages in handling and processing time compared to current cleaning methods. Integrating the new procedure / tooling would complement existing measures aimed at improving cabin air quality and contribute to enhancing the overall technical performance and reliability of our Airbus fleet.
Bernhard Schreckensperger, MSc, Fleet Manager Airbus, Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines is now assessing next steps toward implementation.
“This trial with Austrian Airlines and RH Aero validates everything we have been working toward with this tooling,” said David Allen, CEO of DASH Aero. “Having a major European carrier confirm the effectiveness of our procedure, and begin evaluating implementation, is a tremendous result.”
More on the tooling, and on how it relates to the DASH Aero service, is on the tooling page.
