German maintenance firm Lufthansa Technik and Panasonic Avionics have branded their planned cabin equipment joint venture as Idair.
Lufthansa Technik and Panasonic signed a letter of intent last October to create a venture handling cabin management and in-flight entertainment systems.
In a formal notification of the plan, the European Commission says that the two sides "want to combine their largely complementary activities" in the deisgn and manufacture of customised aircraft cabin systems".
"In particular they aim to create a viable supplier that is able to better compete in the technology-driven high-end markets for customised CMS/IFE systems for VVIP aircraft and customised components for seats for commercial aircraft," it adds.
Last October the companies said their plan would offer a "fresh idea" for the architecture of such systems, based on Panasonic's X Series IFE and communications products, and Lufthansa Technik's Nice equipment. The venture, they added, would be aimed at narrowbody and wideboy VIP aircraft.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
