Aircraft interiors and solutions company Diehl Aviation reached a major milestone as its cabin monuments are now available to Boeing customers as Buyer-furnished equipment (BFE). The BFE designation allows Diehl to supply the systems to airlines for installation at the factory (i.e. line-fit) rather than waiting until after the customer takes delivery for installation. This dramatically expands the opportunities for Diehl Aviation as most airlines prefer cabin monuments to be installed on the final assembly line.
This achievement follows Diehl Aviation’s close collaboration with the aircraft manufacturer during Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator flight test program in 2019, where one area of testing was Diehl Aviation’s capabilities related to galleys and intelligent galley applications. Galleys typically are BFE products on commercial aircraft.
In addition to galleys, airlines might acquire front row monuments or bar units as part of the cabin fitting. Diehl Aviation also offers these in its cabin monuments portfolio and they are also now part of the BFE catalog for Boeing aircraft.
Diehl Aviation has a decades-long history of providing similar monuments as BFE options with other aircraft manufacturers. But adding Boeing’s product lines to its roster gives the company additional sales opportunities.
Approval as a line-fit supplier typically hinges on demonstrating reliable and consistent ability to deliver product to the assembly line on time. Airbus and Boeing (and their airline customers) have been burned in the past by suppliers failing to deliver, causing delays in the aircraft production process. For Diehl Aviation to prove itself in this context is an endorsement of the company’s design and manufacturing processes.
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