Citing the U.S. interstate highway system and the space program of the 1960s, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta in an address last week at Princeton University argued that “only the government” is capable of coordinating the development of major transportation infrastructure projects such as NextGen. However, he also stressed that close coordination across government agencies and with private sector partners will be essential to successful deployment of the system.

Landing gear supplier SPP Canada Aircraft (SPPCA) is forming a business alliance with established maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies Lufthansa Technik and its subsidiary Hawker Pacific Aerospace (HPA) in an effort to build its base in the North American market and attract new programs as a Tier 1 supplier.

The furloughing of FAA inspectors and technical staff delayed routine approvals for a majority of repair stations surveyed by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the trade group reports. Sixty-one percent of respondents to ARSA’s survey report that tasks such as repair station manual approvals were put on hold due to the furloughs.  Thirty repair stations participated in ARSA’s survey.

Azerbaijan Airlines wanted to rebrand its fleet of 18 aircraft and selected A J Walter Aviation, best known for component support, to managing the effort. AJW Group tapped Eirtech Aviation to paint the fleet. Nine months earlier, in November 2012, A J Walter bought two new A340-500s from Airbus that it repainted and reconfigured for use by Azerbaijan Airlines. Deepak Sharma, technical director at A J Walter, told Aviation Week that the company will continue to look beyond its traditional core capabilities.

In the aircraft parts world, speed matters. If properly applied, it reduces inventory, saves money and assures components are where they need to be when they are needed. The trick is flowing those parts through the system more quickly. That is the aim of Southwest Airlines’ recently initiated “Project Velocity,” an effort that promises a 5-7% reduction in per-aircraft parts inventory, according to Peter Requa, director of supply chain management. “We expect to take our per-aircraft inventory down from $650,000 . . . to $610,000 or $600,000,” he says.

Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Bedek Aviation Group has signed licensing agreements with Boeing to perform modifications of 767-200/300s and 747-400s, including passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions. The agreements apply to 72 767-200/300s and 29 747-400s that were previously converted by IAI for various customers, as well as future IAI conversions, the Israeli company says in a statement. Bedek has been a Boeing licensee for P2F conversions of the 737-300/400 since 2010.

Aviation stakeholders should contemplate a slower-growth future--including lower maintenance expenditures.

During a recent visit with a cousin in Greensboro, N.C., the subject of Honda Aircraft came up. He mentioned how important the planemaker was to the community as a source of jobs, tax revenue and pride. Their jets are apparently very popular, he said. To which I responded, “quite possibly.” A comment he found curious. “Well, they haven't actually delivered any yet,” I explained. “None?!” He was surprised, almost flabbergasted.