Boeing

SEATTLE, July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Air China said today that the airline will use Boeing's Airplane Health Management (AHM) system to monitor the in-flight condition of its Next-Generation 737 fleet. The agreement covers a total of 117 Air China 737s that are in service and on order.

Air China is Boeing's first Chinese customer for AHM and the 33rd commercial customer overall.

Air China will use AHM to gather and evaluate critical real-time in-flight flying condition data, relaying airplane information to ground controllers. This visibility allows the airline to turn a potentially time-consuming and costly maintenance delay into a well-planned and easily addressable repair. AHM helps minimize or eliminate scheduling problems, benefiting passengers and improving overall airplane availability.

"We expect Boeing's Airplane Health Management to help us in many ways," said Zhong Dechao, deputy chief engineer of Air China. "Air China will benefit with increased airplane availability, maintenance efficiency and economic performance. We are happy that Boeing is our partner."

AHM also supports long-term fleet reliability by helping airlines identify and respond to faults proactively. Fleet-wide history and knowledge from multiple operators is available to help guide repair decisions on same-model airplanes, improving reliability and efficiency.

"Boeing is committed to providing solutions that will help airlines operate efficiently, and AHM is a key tool in that effort," said Dan da Silva, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes Commercial Aviation Services. "This efficiency is a strong driver in Air China's AHM selection.

"This significant AHM order covering a large Next-Generation 737 fleet is part of our initiative to ensure that the 737 continues to be the most efficient single-aisle airplane available."

Airplane Health Management is a key component in Boeing's larger vision of Lifecycle Solutions - improving airline efficiency with digital productivity tools, product and industry expertise and the power of aviation's leading integrated supply chain, supporting Boeing airplanes from order placement through retirement.

Earlier this year, Boeing announced Next-Generation 737 performance enhancements, in which Boeing and engine provider CFM are reducing fuel consumption by 2 percent by 2011 through a combination of airframe and engine improvements.

About 450 Next-Generation Boeing 737s are in service with China-based customers.

Contact:
Bob Saling
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Seattle
+1 206-766-2914

Wang Yukui
Boeing China
+86 10 5925 5588

SOURCE: Boeing

Web site: http://www.boeing.com/