Boeing, Microsoft Aim AI at Airlines’ $3.1 Billion Repair Bill

Dataliner gives Boeing’s two new products, TechOps AI Agent and Asset Lifecycle Planning, the release said. It also adds connectivity to three established tools, including Airplane Health Management, Insight Accelerator and Maintenance Performance Toolbox.

Dataliner runs on Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft’s platform for building AI applications. It moves airlines from reviewing data one aircraft at a time to studying a whole fleet. Airlines keep their data in their own systems and choose what they share with Boeing. Built-in access controls, encryption and monitoring help protect it, according to the release.

“Airlines have more data available to them than ever before, but turning that data into meaningful action remains a challenge,” Lindsey Douglas, vice president of cabin, modifications, maintenance and digital services at Boeing Global Services, said in the release. “Dataliner is an important step in how Boeing is bringing its aircraft expertise and digital capabilities together to help customers anticipate maintenance needs, identify emerging risks and take timely action.”

Chris Barry, president of U.S. Public Sector Industries at Microsoft, said in the release that the partnership combines Boeing’s aviation expertise with Microsoft’s data and AI technologies to give airlines “a secure, scalable foundation to turn fragmented data into fleet-wide intelligence.”

The relationship is not new. Boeing’s Microsoft ties date to 2016, when the two companies announced a move of Boeing’s digital aviation offerings to Azure, according to a July 2016 press release.

Aging Fleets Could Add $3.1 Billion in Maintenance Costs

In a joint October 2025 report, “Reviving the Commercial Aircraft Supply Chain,” the International Air Transport Association and consulting firm Oliver Wyman estimated that older jets could add $3.1 billion to airline maintenance costs in 2025. The broader cost of supply chain delays was estimated at more than $11 billion for the year. Late deliveries keep older jets flying longer. The aircraft order backlog topped 17,000 aircraft in 2024, up from about 13,000 a year from 2010 through 2019.

Repairs take longer, too. Engine shop visits that once ran 30 to 60 days were taking 300 days or more in some cases, according to the report.

Data is not the shortage. General Electric estimated the global fleet produces 10 exabytes of flight, maintenance and operational data a year, the report said. Predictive maintenance can turn surprise repairs into steady demand for parts that airlines can plan around.

Delays carry their own price tag. Direct operating costs for passenger airlines in the United States reached $98.41 per minute of taxi and flight time in 2025, trade group Airlines for America reported in its U.S. Passenger Carrier Delay Costs data. Maintenance made up $18.35 of that.

Boeing did not say in the press release how much money Dataliner could save airlines.

Airbus Already Sells Fleet Data to Airlines

Airbus, Boeing’s main rival, already sells airlines fleet data tools through Skywise, its digital services unit. Skywise signed an agreement with JetBlue on April 21 to deploy its Fleet Performance+, a digital predictive maintenance and fleet monitoring solution, across the airline’s A320 family and A220 jets, according to a press release.

Fleet Performance+ uses aircraft data and predictive analytics to plan maintenance and reduce disruptions. JetBlue Vice President of Technical Operations David Marcontell said in the release that the platform helps his team monitor aircraft health and respond faster.

Airbus projected in its Global Services Forecast 2026-2045 that digital and connectivity services will grow 5.3% a year to $27 billion by 2045, the fastest pace of any aviation services segment, according to an Oct. 14 press release. The company expects that segment to triple in two decades. Off-wing maintenance is expected to be the largest segment at $217 billion by 2045, and total services demand is estimated to surpass $420 billion at a 3.8% annual rate.

In an earlier trial on 85 aircraft at British low-cost airline EasyJet, Skywise predicted 31 technical failures, which let engineers replace parts before faults occurred, trade outlet Travolution reported in 2018.

Boeing and Airbus are not the only aircraft manufacturers betting on AI to keep jets flying. Korean Air moved its maintenance and turnaround systems to Google Cloud, and Qatar Airways launched AI Skyways with Accenture to predict disruptions hours in advance, PYMNTS reported Nov. 10.

The prize is growing. The maintenance, repair and overhaul market was on track to reach nearly $120 billion in 2025 and top $150 billion by 2030, the IATA and Oliver Wyman report said.

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