Reasonableness of Evaluation Criteria

A bidder protested that the Federal Aviation Administration improperly evaluated its offer for kits modifying Boeing 727 aircraft engines. The agency added $2,500 (the estimated cost of cleaning, inspecting, and repairing the protester's equipment over 4,000 hours-in-service) to the amount per kit quoted by the protester, which otherwise would have been the lowest quoted. The protester also objected to the agency's releasing an evaluation of its equipment to the awardee after the award. The addition of the $2,500 was both reasonable and in accord with the evaluation criteria listed in the solicitation, and there was no legal basis for sustaining the protest on other grounds. The protester also requested that all information submitted by it be privileged under the Privacy Act; however Bid Protest Procedures are intended to provide due process to all interested parties, who are entitled to examine and comment on all protest documents, including agency reports. While GAO will withhold material which has been specifically identified and alleged to be proprietary, it will do so only to the extent this is permitted or required by law or regulation. The protest was denied.