VENDOR JOB CARD: ROTA

VENDOR JOB CARD: RIGHT ON TIME AVIATION (ROTA) President, James Cornelius sets out the focus on customers’ capabilities and meticulous efficiency that underpin ROTA’s success

James is an experienced MRO IT Program Manager with deep experience in both commercial and defense aviation software. Prior to starting ROTA, he spent nearly three decades working in aviation. Starting with Boeing and transitioning to FAR 121 carriers, James worked through the ranks to leadership roles across multiple departments in maintenance and engineering, and the IT world. He is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Aircraft IT: Your name, your job title and the name of the business?

James Cornelius: James Cornelius, President, Right On Time Aviation (ROTA)

Aircraft IT: How did ROTA get started?

JC: ROTA was established in 2015 at a time when commercial and defense aviation, along with the MRO industry, was in a period of growth. The expansion of fleets both in size and diversity, geographic locations, and varying operating models, offered ROTA the opportunity to bring a differentiating solution to the market. ROTA was formed with the passion and experience gained through the ranks of OEMs and Part 121/135/145 Operators.

Aircraft IT: What is the guiding business principle that drives ROTA?

JC: ROTA is a customer focused business. Everything we do, we do to improve our customers’ capabilities, knowledge, and data integrity. We operate with meticulous efficiency and provide support beyond the completion of a project.

Aircraft IT: What has ROTA’s greatest business achievement been to date, and why?

JC: Our greatest business achievement to date is undoubtedly the blazing speed with which we upgraded Spirit Airlines from Trax v12.5 to v15 within 60 business days and completed a Trax implementation for a customer supporting the DoD (Department of Defense) within 180 days. Not only did we exceed our customers’ expectations, but we also completed both projects while supporting multiple other customers utilizing differing MRO IT systems.

“The expansion of fleets both in size and diversity, geographic locations, and varying operating models, offered ROTA the opportunity to bring a differentiating solution to the market.”

“Not only did we exceed our customers’ expectations, but we also completed both projects while supporting multiple other customers utilizing different MRO IT systems.”

Aircraft IT: What have been your disappointments and what have you learned from them?

JC: A scenario that played out early in our company history comes to mind; however, I would not classify it as a disappointment, but rather a challenge and learning experience. During one of our first system implementations for a customer servicing the U.S. DoD, we were met early in the project with a lack of electronic data. Most of the fleet data was still in a hardcopy format and sporadically stored due to the deployed status of the fleet. Understanding our project timeline, we made the challenging decision to send personnel into an austere environment to find, review, and manually upload the required data. We worked jointly with our client and the U.S. DoD to reconcile the fleet data, which, ultimately allowed us to complete the project successfully and on time. The valuable lesson learned from that early experience, of leaning into a problem and continuing to find a solution for our clients, has driven ROTA’s success over the years.

Aircraft IT: In a sentence, how would you summarize what ROTA does for aircraft maintenance customers?

JC: ROTA simplifies and streamlines MRO IT systems for the benefit of our customers, which allows them to focus on daily operations.

Aircraft IT: What do you feel will be the next big thing in maintenance Aviation IT?

JC: Expanded application within the VR/AR (Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality) environment, utilizing digital twins, and integration into existing M&E IT systems allowing maintenance personnel to evaluate the current conditions of the asset, predict future behaviors, refine the control, and optimize the operations. A digital twin reflects the current asset conditions and includes relevant historical data, allowing access to a library of data that can be shared across operators to improve reliability and maintenance practices.

Aircraft IT: What do you want your customers to say about ROTA?

JC: ROTA comes with unmatched discipline, commitment, expertise, and industry knowledge. ROTA operates with integrity and has the capabilities to complete any project on time, within budget, and with zero risk.

Aircraft IT: James, thank you for your time.