MARY KIRBY / WASHINGTON DC
Star Alliance and Rockwell Collins have signed a strategic sourcing agreement which could lead to joint procurement of avionics and in-flight entertainment systems and services by the member airlines. The first opportunity identified is the potential consolidated purchase of flat-panel displays to replace the cathode ray tube flightdeck instruments on 169 Boeing 747s across the Star member airlines' fleets.
Under the agreement, the first of its kind between a global airline grouping and an avionics supplier, Rockwell will create standardised system solutions and procurement requirements that will streamline purchasing by the Star member airlines. Initial work includes defining requirements for avionics products and services and determining the cockpit configurations of current and future aircraft.
Star Alliance chief executive Jaan Albrecht says the pact is essentially "an umbrella agreement between Rockwell Collins and the 14 Star carriers" that aims to bring uniformity and economies of scale to their procurement processes. "Star has a fleet of more than 2,000 aircraft, so there are obvious reasons for these kinds of agreements," which could mean annual savings for member airlines "of tens of millions of dollars", he says.
Albrecht says the agreement will allow Star to begin reducing its surplus avionics inventory. "One of the things we've been striving towards is standardisation among the airlines," says Bruce MacCoubrey, vice-president of strategic services at Star member Air Canada. "There is a huge opportunity as we do that to reduce our inventory levels and create a much more efficient global support network."
The agreement allows Rockwell and Star "to take a good hard look at the quantities and performance levels of equipment that perhaps could be made common across the partners", says Rockwell Collins Commercial Systems chief operating officer Bob Chiusano. Although the agreement makes Rockwell a preferred avionics supplier to Star, it does not guarantee the manufacturer exclusivity in deals with the alliance or its members.
Source: Flight International
