Airlines are willing to spend money to increase productivity and cut costs if the payback period is quick. Real quick. Software suppliers understand this and are creating solutions that can be as broad or as narrow as operators choose. So while airlines are renegotiating labor agreements and aircraft leases to quell costs, they are planning to invest in information technology to help myriad operational quandaries.

In August 1998, Gulfstream Aerospace, outbidding at least two competitors, acquired Dallas-based K-C Aviation amid a great deal of speculation about motives, the tight supply of large bizjet completion capacity and the OEM's sometimes bitter competition with Bombardier.

As more companies have pursued Parts Manufacturing Authorization (PMA) from FAA, air carriers are increasingly finding alternatives to OEMs -- or even their designated suppliers -- for parts and components.