While fuel burn grabs the big headlines in the battle for market share between the mid-thrust engine makers, it is more often maintenance cost which becomes the real acid test when it comes to decision time.

Arinc Managed Services has opened a new headquarters in Annapolis, Md. The wholly owned subsidiary of Arinc, Inc. provides 24-hr. maintenance and support for airline check-in systems and technologies.

Scandinavian Airlines System has entered into an agreement with Sunrise Asset Management to sell 13 MD82/83/87 aircraft and an additional 12 spare engines. The order is valued at about $20 million and delivery of the aircraft and engines is ongoing and will be completed in Feb. 2013. SAS is phasing out its MD-80 fleet and replacing them with Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320s.

Sherwin-Williams has announced its aerospace coatings training program for 2012, which will be held in Andover, Ks. The two-day training sessions will now include work with the SkyScapes basecoat/clearcoat paint system and focus on trends in surface pre-treatments, primer systems and topcoats. The classes are designed for all levels of paint shop personnel and conducted in a training center with electrostatic guns. The cost of the class is $229 per person, including materials, safety equipment and a training certificate.

The Aviation Suppliers Association welcomed Sheri Murray, Air Parts & Supply Co. president and CEO, as a new member of its board of directors. Greg McGowan, Boeing Commercial Airplanes quality leader of product support engineering, returns as a member of the board. Jimmy Wu, Infinity Air president and CEO, also returns.

Prime Turbines has hired Robert Coleman as a sales and service manager for Alaska and the West Coast. Coleman comes to the position after working as a regional sales manager with Dallas Airmotive for 12 years.

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Singapore Technologies Aerospace again sits atop our charts with more than eight million man-hours amassed in 2008, but O&M's biennial survey of the airframe MRO market reveals burgeoning competition in the lower ranks and changes in the middle ground. Data points to a shift among top players and illustrates the impact of the down economy on business. Companies interviewed by O&M cited negative market conditions ranging from parked aircraft to loss of major customers and shut downs of major facilities.