5 min read
As the aviation industry continues to rebound and evolve, 2025 is shaping up to be a turning point for airline operators and MROs alike. Facing technician shortages, supply chain volatility, growing compliance demands, and heightened performance expectations, maintenance leaders are rethinking everything—from how they use data to how they structure operations.
At Veryon, we’ve had a front-row seat for this transformation. In a recent webinar hosted by Veryon, John Talmadge, Veryon’s Vice President of Business Development, and Dave Purfurst, Veryon’s Director of Solution Consultants, explored how industry leaders are using technology to overcome today’s biggest operational bottlenecks and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges.
Here are the top takeaways from the discussion—and what they mean for maintenance and reliability strategies moving forward.
1. Predictive maintenance is the future – but most aren't there yet
Ask any maintenance leader what’s on their radar, and the answer is likely the same: predictive maintenance.
According to our 2025 Benchmark Report, 65% of maintenance professionals say it’s a strategic priority, but only a small percentage have operationalized it. Why the disconnect?
“Part of it is cultural,” explained John Talmadge. “Aviation safety is a zero-sum event, and safety is a moral imperative. You're asking experienced professionals to let a new technology guide decisions—decisions that involve real people flying on real airplanes.”
The other barrier? Data. Many teams still lack access to the clean, unified data required to generate predictive insights. But the good news is, you don’t have to start with complex models—you can start with smarter decisions.
“Operators can begin by analyzing historical maintenance records to identify risk patterns,” said Dave Purfurst. “Tools like Veryon Reliability let you see the likelihood of part failure—say, at 85% or 95% risk thresholds—so you can take action before issues ground your fleet.”
That same data-driven mindset applies to reducing turn times. Leading operators are planning ahead of the aircraft—pre-positioning parts, sequencing tasks based on actual aircraft condition, and using AI to eliminate guesswork.
“We use NLP to flag recurring issues and rank fixes by historical success rates,” Purfurst adds. “If a fix has worked 80% of the time before, that’s your starting point. That’s how we improve first-time fix rates.”
Predictive maintenance isn’t just a future goal—it’s a smarter way of working today. One insight at a time.
2. The technician shortage isn't easing – so teams are getting smarter
Staffing challenges aren’t just a headache—they’re a major operational constraint. In fact, 62% of maintenance leaders say technician shortages are one of their top threats heading into 2025.
“You can only fly what you can support,” said Talmadge. “If we don’t close the technician gap, it throttles growth. You start seeing under-utilized fleets, fewer routes, and eventually, reduced demand for new aircraft.”
While the workforce pipeline is a long game, operators are finding near-term solutions in technology that empower the teams they already have.
“We’re giving teams access to tribal knowledge,” said Purfurst. “By putting historical fix data in the hands of the technician, through tools like Veryon Guided Troubleshooting, we’re shortening resolution times and reducing repeat defects.”
In other words, you don’t need more staff. You need smarter tools that make every technician more capable and confident.
3. Too much data? The real win is making it actionable
The aviation industry doesn’t have a data problem—it has a data usability problem. And in areas like compliance, that’s a serious issue.
“Real-time data is great,” said Talmadge. “But unless you can turn that into something you can act on, it’s just interesting.”
With nearly 80% of operators still struggling with fragmented systems and manual compliance processes, tools like Veryon Tracking+ are helping teams stay audit-ready without drowning in spreadsheets.
“You can generate a CAS or SMS reliability report with a single click,” added Purfurst. “That saves hours of manual effort and ensures you’re always inspection-ready.”
For teams under pressure to do more with less, this kind of automation isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
4. AI that actually works – for aviation
Everyone’s talking about AI. But in aviation maintenance, off-the-shelf AI tools just don’t cut it.
That’s why Veryon has taken a different approach—training its AI specifically on aviation data, using natural language processing (NLP) to understand the way real technicians write, report, and troubleshoot issues. Unlike other platforms, our models are powered by the industry's largest anonymized aviation maintenance data lake, built over 20+ years serving thousands of operators. This unmatched depth and domain specificity give our AI the context it needs to deliver accurate, actionable insights—reducing downtime, accelerating troubleshooting, and enabling predictive maintenance at scale.
“We’ve trained our NLP engine using aviation maintenance language,” explained Purfurst. “That eliminates hallucinations you’d get from public AI models. It’s clean, accurate, and continuously learning based on actual operator input.”
This purpose-built AI powers tools like Veryon Diagnostics, which flag recurring defects, identify the most likely fixes, and guide teams through fault isolation—all from a mobile device, in real time.
The result? Fewer surprises, fewer missteps, and a faster path to resolution.
5. Planning for the unpredictable: Tariffs, lead times & rogue parts
It’s not just labor that’s in short supply. Parts availability is a growing concern, with supply chain constraints, tariffs, and rogue component issues threatening even the best-laid maintenance plans.
“We’re seeing operators break things down on a leg-by-leg basis,” said Talmadge. “That level of planning helps avoid unexpected downtime due to part shortages or customs delays.”
Tools like Veryon Reliability provide a predictive view of inventory needs, flagging which parts are likely to fail, where, and when.
“Instead of just-in-time, we’re seeing a move to just-in-case,” said Purfurst. “That means having the right parts in the right places to avoid AOG events—without bloating inventory.”
The bottom line: It's time for smarter systems
As the aviation industry grapples with technician shortages, increasing compliance demands, and pressure to maximize aircraft availability, one thing is becoming clear: the path to sustainable success lies in smarter systems, not simply more staff.
“Everybody wants more staff,” said John Talmadge, VP of Business Development at Veryon. “But we all know that’s not sustainable. The only way to maintain safety, compliance, and performance as the industry scales is through smarter systems that fill the gap.”
That means investing in aviation maintenance solutions that don’t just capture data but transform it into action. From predictive analytics to real-time troubleshooting support, the next generation of MRO tools is built to drive measurable efficiency.
“Maintenance success in 2025 will come down to integration, insight, and intelligence,” added Purfurst. “It’s not about collecting more data—it’s about using it to make faster, better decisions.”
Veryon’s aviation maintenance solutions are designed to help operators do exactly that—turning fragmented processes into connected workflows, and mountains of data into operational clarity. The result? Improved dispatch reliability, reduced downtime, and a smarter, more scalable maintenance operation.
Ready to raise the standard in your operation?
Explore how Veryon’s aviation maintenance solutions can help you:
- Improve fleet reliability and uptime
- Streamline compliance and audit readiness
- Empower technicians with smarter workflows
- Reduce repeat defects and shorten TAT
- Forecast parts demand and reduce AOG events
Schedule a personalized demo to explore how Veryon’s aviation maintenance solutions can help your team reduce downtime, improve compliance, and stay ahead of unscheduled events—without adding complexity. Request a personalized demo today!
