Why is Rfid important for airlines? Ever lose a luggage? They're working on making this a thing of the past with RFID.

But RFID has the potential to be a real lifesaver when it comes to airline safety. Counterfeit airplane parts is one serious problem, unhappy mechanics is probably another. Then there's reams and reams of paperwork on keeping track of which part should be replaced at what schedule. Passive RFID is what the FAA is looking into.

RFID technology mostly benefits aircraft manufacturers and airlines, not the FAA. For example, RFID devices will likely facilitate quick maintenance on faulty parts with expiration dates such as onboard flight computers, the main landing gear and hydraulic pumps.

Also in the sidebar a very nice concise explaination about Passive RFID:

Passive radio frequency identification technology works when an RFID reader comes near an RFID device and "wakes up" the tag, reflecting the tag's data back to the reader. "It's like shining a flashlight at a mirror and reflecting the light back," said Kenneth Porad, program manager for the Automated Identification Program at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The Boeing tag consists of a 2-by-3-inch nameplate with a microchip connected to a circular or rectangular antenna inside.

Boeing mechanics currently read limited information from a stamped nameplate that may or may not have a bar code. They cannot store information on the bar code, and must instead link the nameplate's sparse information to a database at a separate location to retrieve a plane part's full repair history.

Read the rest:
http://www.fcw.com/article89316-06-20-05-Print