Airlines can save significantly by mining the parts aftermarket, and the avenues that beget those savings just keep getting wider.

Industry predictions call for 12,000 aircraft to be replaced in the global fleet over the next 20 years as they reach the end of their service lives. As airlines move to more fuel-efficient, quieter and more environmentally sensitive aircraft, older ones are shuffling downstream, often to be parked or dismantled. This may be happening faster than in the past, since operators appear to be deciding more quickly to disassemble, taking advantage of the spare parts market for early end-of-life aircraft and engine models.

AirAsia X will decide very soon which maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company to select for Airbus A330 heavy checks. CEO Azran Osman-Rani says the carrier has some A330s due for heavy maintenance checks this year. AirAsia X traditionally sends its A330s to Lufthansa Technik Philippines. Azran, however, says he is considering giving the work to Sepang Aircraft Engineering (SAE), provided the company is licensed to perform A330 heavy checks.

Boeing April 5 completed the final certification test for the modified 787 battery system during a demonstration flight for the FAA, using LN86, a production aircraft destined for LOT Polish Airlines.

China Eastern has ordered Rockwell Collins HUDs for 58 Boeing 737s

Most non-aviation people believe life’s lone certainties are death and taxes. Those who understand aircraft operations know there is at least one more: maintenance downtime.

A backlog of foreign repair station applications created by a byzantine U.S. congressional mandate is forcing airlines to reconsider both expansion and contract maintenance strategies, because desired stations don't have FAA-approved shops to work on U.S.-registered aircraft. (Credit: Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings)

Nation's aerospace industry mushrooms with 270 factories.