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WAEA 24th Annual Conference & Exhibition
9-12 September 2003
Washington State Convention & Trade Center

Session Articles

RFP Boot Camp
Sarah Blomfield (Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.), Ann Willis (Spafax), and Kevin Munday (Matsushita Avionics Systems Corporation), moderated by Jack Molisani (ProSpring Documentation Services).

"Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance throughout the RFP process," agreed the presenters representing airlines, service providers, and hardware manufacturers. And all stressed the importance of information and communication by all entities for a successful RFP.

The scope of the RFP must be clearly defined, and airlines must share essential information concerning the airline, its passengers, and specifics of its IFE.

Blomfield, Willis, and Munday agree that clear selection criteria are imperative, as is a way to compare responses. "Be explicit, but flexible," Munday said. Airlines should be as specific as possible in defining what they want and in communicating in which areas they are not firm.

The airline must budget sufficient time for vendors to prepare a response, approximately six to eight weeks, according to Blomfield.

Willis explained costs, both in time and money, are incurred in responding to an RFP. Airlines should be aware of some of those costs and communicate any assistance they might offer to defray costs, such as providing airline tickets when requesting an in-person meeting.

Airlines should inform both the company awarded the tender and those that were not selected, and explain why each decision was made. The company chosen will know what the airline particularly liked and help those not chosen in developing future RFPs.