Every time an airline sends an engine or actuator into the shop, someone in Washington has already decided how expensive that repair is allowed to be. The FAA's Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) program — the rulemaking track that lets a third party reverse-engineer and certify a cheaper replacement for an OEM part — is the single biggest lever regulators hold over aftermarket pricing power in aerospace. Tighten repair-station oversight and slow PMA approvals, and sole-source part-number holders keep their pricing monopoly. Streamline PMA review and expand "approved alternative parts," and airlines get a federally blessed way to route around list price. Both TransDigm and Heico have built billion-dollar business models betting on opposite outcomes of that same rulemaking fight, and 2026's cost-cutting pressure on airlines is forcing the FAA to lean one way or the other.
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