[Protest of Air Force Contract Award]

A firm protested an Air Force contract award issued under a request for quotations for a quantity of aircraft seats. The protester argued that: (1) the aircraft seats should have been procured on a sole-source basis from the protester as the only approved source for this item; and (2) the awardee did not have the ability to perform the contract. GAO held that: (1) while Defense Acquisition Regulations allow a purchasing activity to solicit only approved suppliers of source-controlled parts, the regulations do not preclude consideration of unapproved sources that can qualify their products; and (2) it does not review affirmative determinations of responsibility absent a showing of possible fraud or bad faith or misapplication of definitive responsibility criteria. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed in part and denied in part.