1.   One such initiative is that presented by the application of advanced expert systems to aircraft maintenance operations.

2.   America West has been under intense FAA scrutiny over its troubled maintenance operation for well over two years.

3.   America West went wrong, he said, by not growing its maintenance operations along with its flight schedule over the past few years.

4.   As Vanguard gets bigger and expands its maintenance operations, the carrier wants to acquire its own hangar.

5.   Besides airlines and aircraft maintenance operations, SAirGroup also runs restaurants, provides meals on high-speed European trains and even runs taxi cab and hotel laundry businesses.

6.   Boeing is in talks with about six airlines about taking over or becoming a partner with their maintenance operations, said Larry Clarkson, president of Boeing Enterprises.

7.   British Airways Plc has said it could spin off its maintenance operations into a separate company one day.

8.   But change is inevitable, he said, because many maintenance operations are too costly.

9.   Despite those negotiations, questions linger about whether TWA intends to continue its Kansas City maintenance operation.

10.   FAA May Ground Alaska Airlines The Federal Aviation Administration threatened to shut down major maintenance operations at Alaska Airlines, which would ground the airline within months.