Of all the responsibilities facing today's business jet operators, few send beleaguered aviation managers for the Maalox faster than the prospect of having to refurbish the cabin of the employer's aircraft.

Business aviation operators preoccupied with their daily regimen may be unaware, but the international air transport industry is poised on the edge of the most significant change in the separation of aircraft since the end of World War II. And if the FAA can make good on the claims of its proposed Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS, or the FAA's now-preferred "NextGen"), more operational control, decision making and freedom of movement will be conferred to the cockpit than ever before.

What do "A008," the FAA's new operational control specification for FAR Part 135 commercial operations, and Sanskrit have in common? Tom, a friend and scholar, explained recently that Sanskrit, one of the world's most ancient languages, was also one of its most challenging because "for every rule of grammar there are 14 exceptions, and the exceptions are more important than the base rule!" The regulatory scribes at the FAA would be impressed since within the new A008, the details seem to be more important than the basic regulation!