Airbus recognises cabin BFE suppliers customer support performance

At the 2011 Aircraft Interiors Exposition in Hamburg, Heino Ostermeier, Airbus Vice President Material, Logistics & Suppliers Customer Services, presented awards in recognition of those BFE suppliers who achieved outstanding levels of customer satisfaction. The suppliers were identified through the Airbus Supplier Support Rating process which captures in-service feedback from over 100 Airbus Customers, operating over 80 percent of the Airbus fleet covering all Programmes. This detailed feedback is combined with industrial performance data from the suppliers, including spare part deliveries and repair processing times during 2010 to produce a detailed ranking, which leads the industry in terms of evaluating supplier support performance.

The awarded suppliers are as follows:

* Bucher, Aim Aviation Henshalls and Aerolux received awards as the “top three” performing companies from a final list of 23 cabin BFE suppliers;
* B/E Aerospace seating, Bucher and Panasonic received awards as “Best in Class” within the Seat, Galley & Monuments and In-flight entertainment categories respectively;
* Aerolux received an award as the most improved supplier in Customer support during 2010.

The major cabin BFE suppliers on Airbus aircraft are rated against three criteria:

* The ability to provide continuously reliable equipment and the associated technical support;
* Ensuring effective operational support services, benchmarked against the industry-leading Airbus supplier support standards;
* Customer feedback concerning cost of ownership.

“The supplier support rating continues to evolve to even better measure operational performance and Airline feedback. This allows Airbus to build a detailed picture on a supplier level to drive improvement, and the Cabin BFE rating is a great example of this”, said Mr. Ostermeier.

The Cabin BFE supplier support ranking is also published as part of the Airbus BFE product catalogue to guide Airbus customers during the equipment selection process.

The next rating cycle will be launched during the final quarter of 2011.