Honeywell aircraft brake leasing economics

Symbiotic incentive structure — the brake manufacturer bears replacement cost, so it has incentive to develop longer-lasting brakes; airline pays a fixed per-landing fee.

Honeywell makes the brakes for the airline, and so it's a great symbiotic relationship. Honeywell has an incentive to develop brakes that last longer, because Honeywell has to replace the brakes. If a mechanic comes to Honeywell and says we need to replace the brakes, Honeywell has to pay for the new brakes. But the airline has fixed costs. They know exactly how much they spend on brakes for every landing. So Honeywell has fixed costs, their accountants are happy — not Honeywell, but American Airlines, whoever the airline is — they can calculate what the profit should be. And then Honeywell has an incentive to make a longer-lasting brake. The mechanics don't care about the cost of replacing the brakes because it doesn't cost their employer anything for them to decide I need to replace the brakes. Just takes time. The cost of the brakes is borne by the manufacturer.