Carrier wants to determine requirements to retrofit A320s

Those who understand aircraft operations know there is at least one more: maintenance downtime.

Forty-three years after entering revenue service, the Pratt & Whitney JT9D series continues to power a cross section of operators sprinkled around the globe. While still diverse, the cross section is much thinner than in years past, however, with many operators flying just a handful of engines. It's a sign of the steady and inevitable decline facing the venerable series.

Every day, in maintenance hangars all over the world, technicians are interrupted or distracted during safety-critical maintenance tasks.

The deficit-reduction measure that went into effect March 1 cuts 7.9% from discretionary defense spending and 5.3% from non-defense discretionary spending. Surely, Washington's latest manufactured crisis will not do any serious damage, will it? Well, consider this:

AW&ST: What challenges have been presented by your fleet growth? Hockin: In a short space of time, Virgin Australia has gone from operating just Boeing 737s to also operating Embraer 190s, Airbus A330s and 777-300ERs. The challenge has been around having a far more varied fleet rather than just a larger fleet. What are your heavy maintenance arrangements in Australia?

A shortage of skilled labor is severely affecting Hong Kong aircraft maintenance provider Haeco, and this year will cause a second annual decline in airframe maintenance volume. Although group sales and profits rose in 2012, Haeco was unable to fully exploit strong demand for its services at its Hong Kong base. It sold 1.3% fewer worker-hours last year than it did in 2011, says Chairman Christopher Pratt.

EgyptAir Maintenance and Engineering company's Mohamed El Sherbiny called on African maintenance companies to engage with their staff if they are to develop successful businesses in the changing world.”