When I began writing this column eight years ago, airlines were reeling as oil prices soared above $50 a barrel. Lockheed Martin was hoping to ramp up production of the Joint Strike Fighter in 2009, and Wall Street analysts were beginning to question whether a run-up in defense stocks had much steam left. Airbus was preparing to launch development of the A350 in response to Boeing's 7E7 (now 787), and the business jet market was embarking on a sales surge that would end in a spectacular crash.

Under fierce pressure to cut costs, even major carriers are turning to independent companies to handle line maintenance at stations where an airline's volume makes in-house support uneconomic. Outsourcing opportunities can involve start-up carriers; or, airlines that simply do not have enough flights at particular airports to justify deploying maintenance staff and infrastructure.

Narrowbody maintenance will be driven by the Boeing 737 over the next three years.

The aviation industry understands the concept of big data and the need to best employ it. A couple of factors are driving what, and how, the aviation industry will deal with the terabytes, petabytes and exabytes of data that are too hard to comprehend.

Sarah MacLeod, MRO industry expert, looks at opportunities, roadblocks for MRO providers.

The bifurcation of the business jet market is expected to continue in 2013, with strong demand for larger and pricier jets and sluggish sales of small and mid-sized aircraft. A Chinese company's failed bid in 2012 to acquire bankrupt Hawker Beechcraft is unlikely to slow Beijing's bid to become a significant player in the market.

Making repairs to composite parts that restore their aesthetic appearance as well as their mechanical performance is difficult. Concerns about undetected contaminants weakening bonded joints mean most repairs involve bolted-on patches. But techniques are emerging to enable aesthetic bonded repairs to aircraft in service and parts during manufacture. Aerostructures manufacturer GKN Aerospace is using laser ablation to cut the time and skill needed to prepare composite parts for repair.

The FAA's NextGen air traffic control modernization effort is a top priority, and 2013 will be a crucial year for its en-route automation modernization and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast programs. Deployment of both is to be largely completed by the end of the year. If that does not occur, there could be serious headaches for other NextGen initiatives.