Published September 2003

Airline taps 2 local firms
for retrofit projects

By Bryan Corliss
Herald Business Writer

Two aerospace companies with Snohomish County ties have won contracts to undertake one of the biggest airliner retrofit projects in the past two years.

Matsushita Avionics Systems of Bothell will provide in-flight entertainment systems, and B/E Aerospace workers in Marysville will do engineering and program management work for Malaysia Airlines as it overhauls the interiors of 32 jets.

The airline announced in August that it plans to spend about $185 million to create new first-class and business-class cabins, and install new seatback entertainment systems in 17 747-400 and 15 777-200 jets in its fleet. The work will start in fall 2004, and the first refurbished planes will re-enter service in November of that year.

In first class, B/E will install personal seating pods that adjust to each passenger’s height and that convert to lie-flat beds. The amenities will include mood lighting, elegant cabinets and closets, electronic window shades and custom lavatories. Business-class passengers also will get fold-down seats in a redesigned cabin.

All divisions of B/E in North America and Europe will be involved in the project, said Max Kuniansky, a spokesman at B/E corporate headquarters in Wellington, Fla.

The role of the Marysville division will be to do the engineering work — calculating how the new seating arrangement will affect each airplane’s structure and performance, and figuring out new wiring schemes. It also will handle overall management of the project.

Matsushita Avionics Systems, which has its world headquarters in Bothell, will provide its new System 3000i in-flight entertainment systems throughout the plane. The system provides audio and video programs on demand. Passengers can start and stop their movie or music choices whenever they wish.

In addition, Malaysia will roll out a number of additional features using the MAS system in the future. That will include e-mail, short message services, Internet connections and live television.

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