Boeing on Friday said it had reached a deal with Delta Air Lines to manage much of the carrier's spare parts system.
Boeing will handle purchasing, inventory management and logistics for Delta's expendable aircraft parts -- nuts, bolts, hoses, clamps and other small components -- beginning with proprietary Boeing parts and possibly expanding later.
A company press release did not disclose financial terms.
The deal will run for five and a half years and cover more than 500 Boeing-built aircraft in Delta's fleet, Boeing said.
"Given the size of Delta's fleet and the nature of what they are doing to try to reduce costs, we believe this agreement will expand fairly rapidly," Joe Brummitt, director of Integrated Materials Management at Boeing.
The program will save Delta 10 to 20 percent on materials operating costs, with Boeing representatives working at the airline's Atlanta hub, Brummitt said.
Boeing and other suppliers will own the aircraft parts, which Delta will pay for as it needs them.
Chicago-based Boeing, which runs its commercial jet business from Seattle, has similar parts management deals with Japan Airlines System and KLM, the Dutch unit of Air France-KLM.
