Let's face facts: It has become nearly impossible to monitor Ryanair's economic model or to predict what's going to happen to Europe's lowest-fare airline in the next few years. The key question is how to determine whether the Ireland-based carrier can remain profitable in the face of declining traffic growth. In March, the airline carried 5.5 million passengers, a surprising 4% decrease. And, in the last 12 months, its traffic increased a relatively weak 5%. Clearly, this is no longer the two-digit growth to which the airline is accustomed.

Rarely in aerospace do the hopes of a company pivot almost entirely on the successful outcome of a single technology, but this is the gamble Pratt & Whitney faces as it embarks on flight tests of its second geared turbofan model and takes another key step toward revitalizing its civil engine fortunes.

When Chinese engineers began full-scale development of the ARJ21 regional jet in 2002, they must have doubted that they would meet the remarkably tight schedule to deliver the first unit in 2006. But it is unlikely that they imagined they would still be developing the aircraft 11 years later.

Nanotechnology-enabled materials are moving into aerospace. New Hampshire-based Nanocomp Technologies is scaling up production of electrically and thermally conductive yarn, sheet and tape made from long carbon nanotubes (CNT). Spun yarn is being used to replace copper in data cables in aircraft and spacecraft, potentially halving the weight of wiring harnesses. Sheet material was used on NASA's Juno spacecraft, launched in August 2011, to provide electrostatic-discharge protection of attitude-control thruster and main-engine components.

Distributor: Avio-Diepen Locations: Offices and warehouses in the Netherlands, the U.K., the U.S. and Americas and Hong Kong. Capabilities: Distributes a variety of aircraft components to operators, MROs, airframe manufacturers and subsystem manufacturers. www.avio-diepen.com

How much of your maintenance is contracted out? Gibbs: Cathay Pacific outsources all of its maintenance, with the exception of line maintenance outside Hong Kong. So line maintenance in Hong Kong is with Haeco [see Haeco article on pg. xx], and heavy [airframe] maintenance is pretty much with Haeco or its subsidiary Taeco [Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd.] in mainland China. We have occasionally used other providers, but not for the past five years. A lot of the work is being done in Xiamen, particularly cabin reconfiguration.

Today's airlines have identified a growing need for modular interiors that can easily conform to constantly changing seat configurations and layouts. Ancra International has created a special type of patented quick-release seat fitting called the AncraLock that does not require tools to remove it. According to Robert Rossato, Ancra's director of sales and marketing, this feature typically drives down the time to remove and reinstall a three-seat assembly to under five minutes, compared to the typical time of 15-20 minutes.

HAECO explores new areas to meet changing industry needs.