Bizav a 'Focus' Area of Combined Collins-B/E Aerospace

The business aviation aftermarket will be a “prime area of focus” after Rockwell Collins completes its acquisition of B/E Aerospace early next year, Collins president, chairman and CEO Kelly Ortberg said yesterday during the company’s third-quarter investor call. He cited the more than 20,000 business jets for which the company “can offer a full complement of interiors, from seating to lighting to electronics, while aircraft are undergoing avionics modifications.” Depending on the size of the aircraft, Ortberg said, there is $200,000 to more than $1 million of “opportunity” per aircraft.

“When aircraft come in for maintenance today, that's when we typically will sell them avionics mods or even cabin entertainment equipment and updates,” he noted. “And we do that through our expansive dealer network. We have more than 300 dealers in the business aviation channel.”

According to Ortberg, B/E currently does not have a dealer network, nor does it have the “visibility” to know the aircraft coming in for modifications, upgrades or maintenance. “So there's no point of sale for the interior products to let those customers know what the latest and greatest capabilities are,” he said, pointing out that B/E’s tie-up with Collins will change this equation. “When aircraft are going to be down for either a modification to the cabin systems or avionics, or even an engine overhaul, we can then upsell the cabin interiors to that. This will almost double our opportunities.”