Lufthansa Technik (LHT) has set up CFM56-5 on-site engine support service in Montreal, landing longtime ally Air Canada as its first customer. LHT’s engine services airline support team offers a variety of on-wing and on-site support, including module and blade replacements as well as case repairs. The group currently supports CFM56-5As and -5Bs, but plans call for expansion to other engine types as demand warrants, LHT says.

About two years ago, Embraer and Kenya Airways began negotiations on establishing the airframer’s second authorized service center in Africa for commercial aircraft, to specialize in E-Jets. The companies’ ambitions gel well: Embraer wants to expand its total service offering on the continent with a trusted partner, and Kenya Airways operates five Embraer 170s and 12 E-190s, and will receive another three E-Jets by November. The airline also aims to build its maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities.

The FAA’s Aviation Safety division has a shrinking staff due to federal budget cuts, and so it is betting on less manpower-intensive risk-based surveillance programs to help inspectors keep tabs on aviation businesses.

Finding a real-world depiction of what Bombardier CRJ100/200 maintenance spending is expected to look like in the next decade is a snap.

As airlines continue to watch engine expenses, MROs are being asked by their customers to design customized approaches to service and provide material solutions. The conversation is forcing MRO vendors to search for answers outside their facilities.

If an airline could mix the petabytes of performance data that aircraft generate with Big Data analysis—and control the weather—that could be operational nirvana. Then fuse that with maximizing the customer experience—and save millions or billions of dollars—and you have near-utopia.

Until the mid-1990s, nearly 75% of all airline maintenance was performed in-house. In part, that was due to lack of credible alternatives, but it was also a vestige of the pre-deregulation period when maintenance and operations stood as essential and equal pillars of an airline's success, with cost being a far less important element than it is today.

The future of an efficient aviation aftermarket depends on fast, accurate, inexpensive data transfer. That means electronic messaging in standard, machine-readable formats. The industry is making progress, with major airlines and OEMs leading the way. The best small companies are adapting, and many more will need to do so.