Alaska Airlines and Boeing launch maintenance cost saving program

Alaska Airlines and Boeing are working together to develop a Component Management Optimization program that will increase the efficiency of airline fleets. Alaska Airlines has agreed to use its fleet and Seattle-based maintenance organization to develop, test and validate Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) and Contact Memory Button (CMB) technology. Part information — such as part and serial numbers and manufacturing date and maintenance history, contained on tags and buttons — significantly reduces an airlines’ operating costs by eliminating untimely, labor-intensive maintenance. The Boeing Component Optimization Program is the first fully integrated "airborne" Automated Identification Technologies program in commercial aviation. Boeing will, in an exclusive partnership with Fujitsu, provide automated identification technology devices, device readers, software applications and system integration service. The program is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2011 and will be available for Boeing and non-Boeing fleets and rapidly adaptable to any customer.