Qantas Airways has unveiled plans to implement a new high-tech aircraft maintenence control system that will allow engineers to use mobile devices like laptops and iPads while they work on aircraft to obtain maintenance instructions, locate and order spare parts, and certify their work.

According to CEO Alan Joyce, "Project Marlin is the largest and most complex IT project Qantas Engineering has ever implemented. Project Marlin means that we can look at a sophisticated database and get an instant update on the maintenance past, present and future of any one of our aircraft, anywhere in the world."

Project Marlin is initially being implemented for the A380 aircraft in the latter part of 2011 but will be utilsed for the entire fleet in time.