No doubt you saw the news coverage surrounding some fairly serious air travel delays around North America last month.

Not only were thousands of travelers inconvenienced, or worse – but incidents like these can and do also cost the airlines millions of dollars in lost revenue.

So it’s in this backdrop that we came across a Web story recently that’s very timely. The piece focuses on the latest technology aimed at helping airlines better manage their fleets – and minimize delays and cancellations at airports.

Although they may not be as glitzy as some of the other products we talk about a lot, Boeing’s services offerings are providing airlines instant access to information about their airplanes’ health, maintenance, and spare parts needs, and making in-flight data such as weather tracking and charts available electronically.

And as the story points out, improving airlines’ access to data - and their ability to resolve issues - can only enhance reliability and overall fleet management. With the end result being a lesser “hassle-factor” for passengers.

By the way, I couldn’t help but notice that we’ve probably had more comments come in about my retirement than on any other subject we’ve talked about here in the blog. Not sure what that says about the quality of my other posts! But I wanted to say that your kind words have touched me, and I truly appreciate all the good wishes you’ve sent my way.