All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines yesterday conducted inspections of their Boeing 787 fleets after faulty wiring was discovered by ANA in an engine fire extinguisher. ANA discovered improper wiring in the engine fire extinguisher of a 787 during a pre-takeoff inspection, and subsequently found the problem in two more of its 787s.

Almost 20 years into the program, many Boeing 777 parts are still scarce and expensive in aftermarket trading. This may be what the future looks like for other new models that rely on OEMs and long-term agreements for future support. A majority of 777 parts are in short supply, according to Zilvinas Sadauskas, CEO of Locatory.com. “Only 20% of 777 inventories may be found on the open market,” Sadauskas notes. Airframe, component and engine OEMs have maintained tight control of the market. Some engine OEMs buy old engines to secure their position in spares.

Rockwell Collins’ largest acquisition to date—purchasing communications and systems engineering provider, Arinc, for $1.39 billion from the Carlyle Group—will give the avionics maker its own end-to-end communications link between the ground and the flight deck, a connection that is fundamental to the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Airframe OEMs are seeing new business opportunities and aftermarket revenue streams for their next generation of commercial jets, but customer support will not be business as usual.

Expect shortage of 777 spares to last at least a couple more years

Kelly Ortberg became CEO of Rockwell Collins on Aug. 1

Third-party revenue at Air France-KLM Group’s Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) unit is on the rise as the entity adjusts its focus to more profitable work and trims costs through streamlined operations. Revenues from outside the group are up 19.6% to €621 million ($824 million) for the first half of 2013, including a 20.4% increase in the second quarter, group executives explained during of the company’s first half earnings call. 

Tying a potential repair station safety management system (SMS) mandate to specific criteria, such as work performed on transport category aircraft, could be an acceptable alternative to a broad rule covering all FAA-certified facilities, a survey of MRO executives suggests. The survey, conducted by St. Louis University’s Center for Aviation Safety Research (CASR), generated about 440 responses from repair stations of all sizes, including some foreign facilities.