Aircraft Ground Support Equipment Standardization: The Pros and Cons of “Functional” vs “Technical” Standardization

The airline industry has a long history of publishing ramp equipment specifications through a variety of committees. Experience, including sometimes costly mistakes, indicates that one should be careful in distinguishing technical (design or purchasing) from functional (objectives and performance) specifications. Only functional specifications based on a sufficiently broad and international airline consensus can effectively lead towards airport equipment standardization. In the long range, only the market laws, through free will of both manufacturers and buyers, will determine which equipment is purchased and hence which degree of standardization is effectively achieved.