The IT revolution, which swept through ticketing and distribution in a decade, is making steady progress on a much tougher challenge: Tying together maintenance planners, techs and their suppliers. Air Canada Maintenance will replace 12 legacy maintenance systems with six modules of Mxi software by early 2010, according to ACM Project Director Steve Bogie. The carrier chose Mxi for several reasons: Solving current challenges while preparing for a more automated future and because Web-based Mxi can be deployed to Air Canada stations around the world.

Airlines increasingly obtain spare parts under agreements with maintenance providers, or from manufacturers, which can supply parts under terms of initial acquisition agreements for fees per hour. Traders offer used parts or PMA alternatives to OEM parts at discounts. Exchanges and pooling agreements offer access to parts without holding costs. Asset managers can offer access without investment as well.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSISTS AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE planners in several ways. First, IT can convert the unplanned reactions to surprises, both on the line and in the shop, into well-planned actions that reduce expensive downtime and costs. Second, IT allows the regular planning of maintenance events to be conducted and communicated much more rapidly and efficiently. But automating maintenance planning often has been difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Managers must consider a complex web of processes and other IT systems to do it well and make the transition pay off.