Part 135 operations, which posted a “banner year” in 2013, are on pace to carry that momentum into 2014, but Part 91 and fractional operations are expected to remain flat to down in the early part of 2014, business aviation analyst Argus forecasts. Argus, which tracks business aircraft arrival and departure information in the U.S. and Canada, found that despite a strong end to 2013, flight operations for the year were still down overall 0.3% from 2012.

An irony is playing out here over the U.S. government's fiscal 2015 budget: Not since the last recession ended has there been such widespread acknowledgement in Washington of where federal spending is headed, thanks to the so-called Ryan-Murray budget deal in December and 2014 appropriations, which became law Jan. 17. But Congress increasingly will be unable to do anything about it as 2014 continues.

Asia-Pacific interest focuses on A350, 787-9 as flight tests progress

Russia, China hone plans for jointly developed widebody

Airbus is at a crossroads. It needs to address its major twin-aisle product line disadvantage to Boeing, while simultaneously implementing organizational reforms that could leave the company with less cash for new product development.

When it comes to the fiscal 2015 budget request from the Obama administration, if you like your current major aerospace and defense program, you can keep it—for now. With the politically charged nature of final 2014 appropriations and their late-cycle passage Jan. 17, and next month's release of the 2015 request and accompanying long-term budget blueprint, more than the usual high-level information is already known about the White House's formal request as far as 2018.

It is clear that preventive maintenance can bring reliability and predictability to a fleet, but can it position a diligent carrier above the mean? Delta Air Lines is testing—and perhaps proving—the hypothesis.

Southeast Asian MRO competition heats up