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For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Jim Veihdeffer
(602) 436-2203
jim.veihdeffer@cas.honeywell.com
HONEYWELL, MATSUSHITA ANNOUNCE AVIONICS ALLIANCE
Will develop "total aircraft avionics solution" with initial areas to include Internet/E-mail and Direct Broadcast
FARNBOROUGH, ENGLAND, SEPT. 7, 1998 — Honeywell Aviation Services of Phoenix and Matsushita Avionics Systems of Bothell, Washington have signed an agreement with the intention of forming a strategic alliance to develop and market "Total Aircraft Avionics." The alliance will integrate Matsushita’s airborne In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) products and Honeywell’s communications products and services to provide significant benefits for both airlines and passengers.
"We’re aiming squarely at one of the major growth areas in aviation electronics: information management and cabin electronics to support passenger communications and entertainment," said Don Schwanz, president of Honeywell’s Space and Aviation Control business. "This is a strategic relationship that blends the existing skills, expertise and products of two very experienced companies, allowing us to provide a ‘total aircraft information system solution’ for airline customers."
Potential areas of initial cooperation include:
- Integration of Matsushita’s in-flight entertainment (IFE) product line and Honeywell’s Total Aircraft Information System
- Maintenance capability for Matsushita’s IFE system based on Honeywell’s AMOSS service (diagnostics and troubleshooting software) and product support.
- Development of cabin e-mail and Internet/Intranet services
- Development of "Direct Broadcast Service" to the aircraft
- Integration of Honeywell’s Wireless LAN with Matsushita’s IFE System
"This is a very exciting growth opportunity for both Honeywell and Matsushita and a natural extension of our core capabilities," said Yukio Sugimoto, president of Matsushita Avionics Systems Corporation. "Honeywell brings advanced cockpit avionics and communications technology to the alliance as well as a highly regarded worldwide customer support infrastructure. Matsushita brings industry-leading cabin entertainment systems—based on the company’s experience developing Panasonic products—and advanced passenger applications. The benefits of this alliance were evident from our first discussions and have produced a very exciting vision for the future of the two companies."
The agreement, signed in July, was made public at the Farnborough Air Show being held here this week. Technical and marketing program plans have been completed in anticipation of a final agreement to be signed in October. The alliance schedule calls for first product offerings in the first quarter of 1999.
"We envision connectivity extending a passenger’s entertainment and work options from the home or office to the aircraft—essentially anything a passenger can do on the ground is now going to be available at 30,000 feet," Schwanz said. "This alliance creates a unique synergy of expertise and capabilities which will provide a totally integrated system with enhanced capabilities that will meet airline and passenger needs well into the next millennium."
Bothell, Washington-based MASC, a subsidiary of Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI), offers airlines complete in-seat entertainment systems. MEI, established in 1918, is one of the world’s leading producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. Annual sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998 reached $59.78 billion. Matsushita has more then 275,000 employees worldwide with products marketed under Panasonic, Technics, Quasar and National brand names in over 180 countries.
Honeywell is the world's leading provider of control technologies for buildings, homes, industry, space, and aviation. The company employs 56,500 people in 95 countries, and had 1997 sales of $8 billion.
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