Responding to the dramatic inroads made by carbon-fiber compositesinto aircraft structures, metals suppliers say their latest lightweight aluminum-lithium alloys can fully replace conventional aluminum and rival the benefits of composites in clean-sheet designs. As direct replacements for traditional aluminum, the new alloys' lower density provides a 3-6% weight reduction, but in new designs that can take advantage of the material's greater stiffness and corrosion resistance, the savingcan reach 25%.

In the drive to reduce aircraft fuel consumption and emissions, the traditional jet-fuel burning auxiliary power unit (APU) is being targeted for replacement by a clean-operating fuel cell, which only emits water vapor. In 2012, Boeing flew a regenerative fuel cell in its 737 EcoDemonstrator. Developed by Japan's IHI Aerospace, the fuel cell generated electricity and was “recharged” by the engines, surplus power being used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, with the hydrogen then used in the fuel cell.

Widebody operators face a new supply and demand paradigm.

North Korea's successful launch of a satellite in December after 14 years of attempts put the hermit kingdom one step closer toward deploying an intercontinental ballistic missile. And Iran's nuclear weapons program—and the threat of an Israeli attack to cripple it—will keep tensions simmering in the Middle East.

When I began writing this column eight years ago, airlines were reeling as oil prices soared above $50 a barrel. Lockheed Martin was hoping to ramp up production of the Joint Strike Fighter in 2009, and Wall Street analysts were beginning to question whether a run-up in defense stocks had much steam left. Airbus was preparing to launch development of the A350 in response to Boeing's 7E7 (now 787), and the business jet market was embarking on a sales surge that would end in a spectacular crash.

Under fierce pressure to cut costs, even major carriers are turning to independent companies to handle line maintenance at stations where an airline's volume makes in-house support uneconomic. Outsourcing opportunities can involve start-up carriers; or, airlines that simply do not have enough flights at particular airports to justify deploying maintenance staff and infrastructure.

Narrowbody maintenance will be driven by the Boeing 737 over the next three years.

The aviation industry understands the concept of big data and the need to best employ it. A couple of factors are driving what, and how, the aviation industry will deal with the terabytes, petabytes and exabytes of data that are too hard to comprehend.