Washington FAA officials have spent considerable energy this year warning industry that shrinking resources tied to federal budget cuts would put the squeeze on myriad airworthiness approvals, new product certifications and related tasks that keep aviation going—and innovating. One way to ensure your projects are moving, the officials says, is to take on more of the FAA's work by creating an Organization Designation Authorization (ODA).

To meet explosive fleet growth, Asia-Pacific LCCs expand their maintenance capabilities.

Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. (Haeco) says it plans to purchase Timco Aviation Services for $388.8 million.

Eirtech Aviation’s time-saving fix for a global Boeing 737 mandate is winning the Shannon, Ireland-based maintenance provider a who’s who of 737 operators as clients, led by two of North America’s most visible Boeing narrowbody airline customers.

Airbus A380 operators are facing inspections of specific belly-area fuselage panels after loose panels were discovered on an in-service aircraft, says a draft European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive published Oct. 18. EASA’s proposed directive will require detailed inspections around specific belly fairing frames at 1,200 total cycles or 240 cycles after a final rule’s effective date. The checks, based on an Airbus service information sent out in early October, would be required every 1,200 cycles unless an Airbus-suggested modification is made.

Citing the U.S. interstate highway system and the space program of the 1960s, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta in an address last week at Princeton University argued that “only the government” is capable of coordinating the development of major transportation infrastructure projects such as NextGen. However, he also stressed that close coordination across government agencies and with private sector partners will be essential to successful deployment of the system.

Landing gear supplier SPP Canada Aircraft (SPPCA) is forming a business alliance with established maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies Lufthansa Technik and its subsidiary Hawker Pacific Aerospace (HPA) in an effort to build its base in the North American market and attract new programs as a Tier 1 supplier.

The furloughing of FAA inspectors and technical staff delayed routine approvals for a majority of repair stations surveyed by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the trade group reports. Sixty-one percent of respondents to ARSA’s survey report that tasks such as repair station manual approvals were put on hold due to the furloughs.  Thirty repair stations participated in ARSA’s survey.