The proliferation of mobile devices and software that enables increasingly more complex data distribution and handling could lead to the most significant evolution in maintenance documents management since the transition from paper to electronic formats.

Boeing this fall will launch a line maintenance applications suite for mobile devices with an unidentified customer, following a year of development. “Airlines are using more mobile technology every day, and the mobile platform is an ideal tool for mechanics to have the information when and where they need it, and to share that information with other experts or departments across the company,” says Elizabeth Holleman, a representative for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Digital Aviation Business, in Renton, Wash.

Airframe OEMs are seeing new business opportunities and aftermarket revenue streams for their next generation of commercial jets, but customer support will not be business as usual.