The MAX also will employ a digitally controlled electronic bleed air system from Honeywell that will enable pilots to fine-tune cabin pressurization levels based on the exact number of passengers on board as another fuel-saving measure.

The NG’s mechanical bleed air system is controlled by an on-off switch, but digital controls will enable MAX pilots to save fuel flow based on actual payload requirements, says Carl Esposito, Honeywell’s director of product management.

VP Jeff Standerski says Rockwell Collins “had to buy our way onto the airplane” by proving that its 15.1 in. LCD cockpit displays will offer greater operational efficiencies over the current NG system, which uses 8 in. Honeywell displays.

More important, the displays “set up airlines for the future of air navigation,” he says, because they are easily upgradable for synthetic vision, head-up displays (HUDs) and other system advances. Those upgrades bring higher safety margins for flying in deteriorated weather. Just last week, the Civil Aviation Administration of China approved HUDs for eight main airports and expects to add 58 more by 2015.

Despite its larger size, the “look and feel of the new system” will be similar to the NG’s, Standerski says, enabling the rapid transition for NG pilots to the MAX that airlines want.