Lufthansa prepares to become the first carrier to operate both the Airbus A380 and Boeing's 747 in 2012.

For years, the supply chain was looked upon as a necessary evil. Manufacturing, warehousing and transportation were part of the cost of doing business, not what drove a company forward. That is no longer the case. Every organization in every industry, including the aviation aftermarket, is challenged to do whatever it is they do better, faster and cheaper. Supply chains are no longer just overhead—the best companies view them as a competitive advantage.

The quest for seamless service reaches into the cabin as carriers look at regional jet upgrades.

Sometimes an organization can be doing everything right by the book but still have lots of room for improvement.

Modern Singapore is as much the creation of one man, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who led the country with an iron hand for 30 years.

It comes as a surprise to many, but Tokyo's Narita International Airport until recently operated with only one runway.

Researchers are all too familiar with the huge costs, high risks and frustratingly slow pace of high-speed flight testing, not to mention the scarcity of opportunities. Now a Colorado-based team is developing a small supersonic UAV (below) for low-risk testing at a fraction of the cost of existing systems. Dubbed the Gojett (graduate organization jet engine technology team), the ambitious project is aimed at breaking the supersonic test paradigm and filling part of the void left by retirement of reusable flying testbeds like the legendary X-15.

The photo on page 11 of last week's issue should have been credited to Joe Walker.