Airlines are willing to spend money to increase productivity and cut costs if the payback period is quick. Real quick. Software suppliers understand this and are creating solutions that can be as broad or as narrow as operators choose. So while airlines are renegotiating labor agreements and aircraft leases to quell costs, they are planning to invest in information technology to help myriad operational quandaries.

Regional jets, particularly their engines and components, are emerging as a major growh driver in the commercial transport MRO market. According to the fleet database compiled by New Haven, Conn.-based BACK Aviation Solutions, regional jets accounted for just 4% of the world commercial jet fleet in January 1994, with 338 units. This grew to 2,058, or 13%, by January 2004. BACK predicts that by 2014, the number of regional jets will reach 3,847, or 24% of a total worldwide jet fleet of 16,030.

For the past 25 years, most new production airliners have been certified with factory maintenance programs based on the Maintenance Steering Group (MSG) concept, known since 1980 as Maintenance Steering Group 3 (MSG-3). While commercial aircraft OEMs have adopted the evolving maintenance standard, most business jet manufacturers to date have not.