When it comes to technical purchasing, airlines across the spectrum are increasingly insisting upon greater flexibility in the fine print of maintenance support contracts. “Today, the customer has gotten more sophisticated when negotiating maintenance contracts,” says Brian Ovington, principal marketing manager of aviation services for GE Aviation. “There is a lot more creativity in terms of the payment structures and the length of the agreements with respect to aircraft entry and exit of the program, and other terms.”

BA Engineering preps for 787 and A380s, seeks synergies with Iberia

1. Spicing It Up Manufacturer: Airbus Applications: Airbus's Space Innovative Catering Equipment (Spice) should be available for aircraft deliveries in the early 2020s. Specifications: The system includes foldable service carts and has a weight savings of 400-600 kg (881-1,322 lb.). www.airbus.com/innovation/well-being/inside/spice/ Link 610

In the arcane world of airline technical services purchasing, the dynamics are changing along with the economics of the industry.

Lack of effective communication, one of the Dirty Dozen root causes of human error in maintenance, is to blame for many of the problems that crop up in the hangar. When organizations address this topic, typically they zero in on handovers between shifts and clarity of written items in logbooks. Rarely do managers step back and consider how they are communicating through the signage posted around the workplace. It may seem a small thing, but the words on your walls matter.

In the Netherlands, home to more than 150 aerospace companies, MRO and logistics dominate.

When Arinc developed the Acars (aircraft communications addressing and reporting system) model in the late 1970s, the goal initially was relatively straightforward: Create a type of time stamp for aircraft taking off and returning to the hangar, says Dan Pendergast, Arinc's international division senior director.

A new mid-year report from Aviation Week's Top-Performing Companies (TPC) study reveals that the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry remains resilient, even as potentially deep cuts to Pentagon spending draw closer. Boeing held on to its top ranking of 10 publicly traded contractors with revenues of more than $20 billion, raising its TPC score two points in the first half of 2012, to 89. And the next three companies, all pure-play defense contractors, also managed to boost their performances, reversing declines in 2011.