British Airways is to ditch B/E Aerospace as its in-flight entertainment (IFE) hardware supplier and is expected to announce a tie-up with Hughes-Avicom International around 15 December. The contract could have eventually been worth around $225 million to B/E Aerospace.
The UK carrier decided to re-evaluate its IFE programme in September, citing reliability problems with B/E Aerospace's Multi-media Digital Distribution System (MDDS). The airline evaluated other interactive systems, in addition to considering keeping the MDDS, but operating it in non-interactive mode until reliability could be assured. Neither BA or Hughes Avicom will comment on the switch, and B/E Aerospace says that it has not been notified of any change. Industry sources, however, told Flight International sister publication In-Flight Entertainment International that the contract has already been awarded to California-based Hughes Avicom.
Winning the BA contract is a major coup for Hughes-Avicom and its new owner Rockwell. BA has already selected Hughes-Avicom's Total Entertainment System (TES) for three Boeing 777s and Hughes-Avicom had been hopeful that additional orders would follow.
BA's about-turn follows two years of problems with the MDDS. The airline intended eventually to equip its entire long-haul fleet with the system, which it selected in 1995. It planned a one-aircraft trial of the system before making a decision to equip all three classes of passenger cabins throughout its long-haul fleet.
BA selected BT's Airline Interactive Services (ALIS) software to run off the B/E Aerospace platform to offer IFE services, including audio- and video-on-demand, in-flight shopping, hotel and airline reservations, gambling, personal-computer-based games and information services.
Although BA is understood to be happy with the performance of BT's software, the MDDS failed to meet expectations. The deal was worth $155 million-plus to B/E Aerospace, with a possible increase to $225 million if an additional undisclosed number of aircraft were included in the programme. Equipment deliveries were due to start in early 1998. The new schedule is unknown.
B/E Aerospace had hoped that BA would keep the MDDS, claiming that it is the most advanced IFE system in the industry and pointing to product endorsements from other airlines, including Japan Air Lines and Asiana.
Source: Flight International
