Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Rockwell Collins is poised to significantly expand its airline and aftermarket reach with the proposed&nbsp;$8.3 billion deal&nbsp;to acquire cabin and cockpit systems maker B/E Aerospace. Under the agreement, announced yesterday, Rockwell Collins will acquire B/E Aerospace for roughly $6.4 billion in cash and stock and the assumption of $1.9 billion in debt. In turn, B/E shareholders will receive about a 20 percent share of the combined entity. The transaction is expected to close in the spring, subject to regulatory approvals.

 


Similar to its 2013 acquisition of Arinc, B/E would become a separate segment of Rockwell Collins and would continue to be run by B/E president and CEO Werner Lieberherr.

 


The merger of Rockwell Collins and B/E would create a company that employs nearly 30,000 workers, produces $8.1 billion in revenues and provides a spectrum of cabin and cockpit offerings—from avionics, cabin electronics, communications, information management systems and training to seating, food and beverage preparation and storage equipment, lighting, oxygen systems and galley and lavatory systems for both business jets and commercial airliners.

 


Rockwell Collins chairman, president and CEO Kelly Ortberg called the proposed sale “transformative and complementary,” saying the deal would “strengthen our position as a leading supplier of cockpit and cabin solutions, increasing our scale and establishing a new platform of growth for our company.&nbsp;The addition of B/E will also diversify and balance our portfolio across OEM, airline and aftermarket&nbsp;[clients].”

 


With 80 percent of its revenues derived from airline customers, B/E Aerospace will provide Rockwell Collins greater penetration in the airline market, Ortberg said. He believes B/E’s stronger airline relationships will open the possibility to sell more avionics. Likewise, where Rockwell Collins has the stronger relationship, the potential exists to sell more interior equipment.&nbsp;Ortberg estimated this could generate upwards of $50 million “per opportunity.”

 


Rockwell Collins already has seen such benefit through its Arinc acquisition, he said, noting that through Arinc, the company has been better able to understand the demands and needs of the airline customers.

 


“If you look at our content on next generation widebody aircraft, if we combine with B/E’s content, it will triple our position on…programs like the 787 and A350, which we know are going to drive the preponderance of the future of the widebody market, and it will nearly double our position in the narrowbodies.”

 


B/E has won nearly half of the business class and main cabin awards over the past two years and 85 percent of the galley insert awards, as well as provide oxygen for all in-production Airbus and Boeing platforms, as well as in-development programs.

 


In addition, Ortberg cited possibilities for the future-generation aircraft. “Our combined portfolio will uniquely position us to integrate cabin products, smart network technology, and connectivity solutions to significantly enhance aircraft uptime and airlines profitability,” he said.

 


Ortberg pointed to other areas of revenue generation as a result of the combined entity.&nbsp; A “prime area of focus” will be the business jet aftermarket.&nbsp;The merger could produce opportunities for new sales in aftermarket, representing anywhere between $200,000 to more than $1 million per aircraft in potential additional business, depending on the size of the aircraft. This could double the discretionary avionics modifications business. Ortberg said.

 


The B/E business base also could grow substantially, since Rockwell Collins has a network of almost 300 dealers.&nbsp;B/E does not have a dealer network, and as a result currently does not have as much exposure to when aircraft may come in for retrofits.

 


He further noted Rockwell Collins’s relationships both with the military and with OEMs, which could translate into additional business.

 


"We feel confident that this combination delivers significant long-term benefits neither company could realize on its own,” added B/E Aerospace founder and chairman Amin Khoury. “We look forward to becoming part of Rockwell Collins and leveraging their technology to accelerate our long-term&nbsp;growth as we embark on the next chapter in the company's history.”

 


Beyond the growth in business, the companies predict run-rate pre-tax cost synergies of about $160 million. They expect to see cost synergies from corporate consolidation, low-cost country manufacturing, supply chain, IT systems, and sales and customer support.&nbsp;

 


The acquisition is expected to result in double-digit accretion to earnings per share in the first full fiscal year and produce combined five-year free cash flow in excess of $6 billion, Rockwell Collins reported.

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

Rockwell Collins Strikes $8.3 Billion Deal for B/E

Combined entity would employ 30,000 workers, produce $8.1 billion in revenues and offer a spectrum of cabin and cockpit offerings.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Flight-tracking service is available for display on passengers' devices

FlightPath3D and Gogo Extend Bizav Partnership

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

The German company is taking a new approach to aerospace display technology.

Zeiss Microoptics Brings New Display Tech to Aircraft Cabin, Cockpit

Charles Alcock

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

ProSight technology is being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow

Zeiss Debuts New Approach to Cockpit and Cabin Displays 

Expands company’s offerings for high-speed, global connectivity

Pro Star Delivers G280 Gogo Galileo Satcom Installation

New service plans distinguish between a single area and global coverage

Starlink Doubles Aviation Prices, Adds Region Boundaries

Amy Wilder

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

More In Cabin Interior and Electronics

FlightPath3D and Gogo Extend Bizav Partnership

Flight-tracking service is available for display on passengers' devices

Zeiss Microoptics Brings New Display Tech to Aircraft Cabin, Cockpit

The German company is taking a new approach to aerospace display technology.

Zeiss Debuts New Approach to Cockpit and Cabin Displays

ProSight technology is being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow

Pro Star Delivers G280 Gogo Galileo Satcom Installation

Expands company’s offerings for high-speed, global connectivity

Starlink Doubles Aviation Prices, Adds Region Boundaries

New service plans distinguish between a single area and global coverage

Jet Access Maintenance Earns Starlink Dealer Status

Services span three locations in Indianapolis, Nashville, and West Palm Beach

Gogo Galileo Now Available for Gulfstream G650/G650ER

HDX antenna installed under the tail-mounted radome

Gogo Galileo Satcom Now Factory Option on Pilatus PC-24

System is FAA- and EASA-certified

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN