Star Alliance carriers are to work together to define a common Star standard for Boeing's 7E7.
The 7E7 will be the first mainline aircraft to go through Star's fledgling aircraft standardisation campaign that started with regional jets last year.
Star Alliance chief executive Jaan Albrecht says: "At the Star board meeting next week in Tokyo we will firm up more interest and get the core group of airlines."
The group to devise Star's 7E7 standard will consist of a handful of three or four airlines and will be decided in a "matter of weeks", he says.
Obvious candidates to join this group are Singapore Airlines, which has already expressed an interest in the 7E7, and All Nippon Airways, which has a requirement for the short-range version of the aircraft.
The 7E7 exercise will be different to the regional jet specification because it is an aircraft still on the drawing board, stresses Albrecht, but it will produce the same result - a Star standard aircraft that all carriers in the alliance can purchase.
Exercise
Creating such a standard has benefits for airlines in terms of joint aircraft acquisitions, training and maintenance.
It should help to boost the resale value of an aircraft because the customer base is larger.
"It gives a world of flexibility," says Albrecht. "The manufacturers just love it," he adds, because it helps them reduce the number of system suppliers and production times.
Eventually Star carriers will adopt a standard for every aircraft type, confirms Albrecht. One currently exists for the Airbus A318, Boeing 717, Embraer 170/190 and Bombardier CRJ700/900 following Star's regional jet campaign.
MARK PILLING
Source: Flight Daily News
