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Tag Archives: aviation communications

Wi-Fi Internet in the sky via satellite

March 21, 2012
Business Aviation News
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Because they have few limits on bandwidth airlines are giving satellites a second look for delivering onboard Internet services to passengers.

Satellites are an attractive option for airlines that are still figuring out the best and most affordable ways to deliver Internet on flights.

Currently most U.S. carriers offering in-flight Internet, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, AirTran and Virgin America, use so-called air-to-ground technology provided by Illinois-based Gogo. This system only offers limited availability the aircraft must be flying over land.

Consultant Michael Planey says “Satellites offer broadband capability that gives airlines flexibility to offer more services to passengers”.

The commercial incentive for airlines are potential additional revenue sources that will require more broadband bandwidth, including streaming videos, online shopping, booking hotels and local destination coupons.

ARINC Cabin Connect - In-flight Broadband

ARINC Cabin Connect - In-flight Broadband

Onboard internet is offered by ARINC’s Cabin Connect Service. Passengers can now browse, email, IM, tweet, shop and more direct from their own device.

For more information on how ARINC’s passenger WiFi product can revolutionise the inflight experience please visit: www.cabinconnect.aero

London Gatwick Airport Turns to ARINC to Enhance Check-In Kiosk Operations

February 23, 2012
Business Aviation News
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vMUSE Multi-Airline Check-in

vMUSE Multi-Airline Check-in

Last month we heard that ARINC Incorporated has taken over the support and maintenance of 48 Common-Use Self-Service (CUSS) kiosks used by international airlines at London Gatwick Airport.

ARINC was contracted for the work in late 2010 after Gatwick Airport requested a proposal for support services for their existing kiosk estate. ARINC’s offer included a new software platform to improve operation of the kiosks, and a full maintenance and support package to ensure on-going operational effectiveness.

ARINC fast-tracked the installation. Beginning in late 2010 it took over the existing kiosk hardware and installed new IBM CUSS platform software to manage the kiosks and their associated airline applications. The project was finished in just 12 weeks.

More recently, ARINC has installed and now supports an additional 30 new IBM “N series” kiosks within Gatwick’s North Terminal.

“Automated passenger processing solutions are more critical than ever for airports today,” stated Andy Hubbard, ARINC EMEA Managing Director. “Efficiently managing the diverse passenger profile of today’s travellers is key to an airport’s success, and a cost-effective and reliable CUSS system is a vital part of the solution. We are delighted to be given the opportunity to assist Gatwick Airport in delivering on their vision of streamlined passenger handling.”

ARINC has become the industry leader in this area of passenger processing, and with IBM has installed 60% of the CUSS kiosks at airports worldwide. ARINC also supports other CUSS kiosk installations at a number of UK airports. “IBM has worked with a large number of airlines and airports around the world for many years and is dedicated to developing smarter ways to make airport operations more efficient and cost-effective,” said Stephen Luurtsema, Associate Partner, IBM GBS Travel & Transportation.

For business aviation customers ARINC offers vMUSE. vMUSE offers secure connections into the cloud with its elasticity of resources and promise of even greater savings through the use of a vast centralised computing infrastructure that can be easily accessed via the internet. This is, in effect, “pay-as-you-go” computing that reduces capital expenditure, minimises management overheads and gives immediate access – with nearly infinite capacity – to a broad range of applications.

Working within the ARINC private cloud, vMUSE Enterprise puts the power of common use systems within reach of airports and airlines whose passenger volumes may be too small to justify the investment in traditional CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) infrastructure.

For more information please visit the vMUSE website.

Advance Passenger Information Data Row

February 16, 2012
Business Aviation News
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AviSec Advance Passenger Information
AviSec Advance Passenger Information

This month we heard that the US and European Governments are disputing a deal on passenger data sharing – put together to fight serious crime and terrorism.

Advance Passenger Information (API), is obligatory in the USA and all EU member states. Increasingly it is being required by governments around the world. Combined with Passenger Name Records (PNR), this information must be sent to the destination country’s border security department for passenger screening, crucial for effective border management. Failure to supply API can land airlines with fines of up to $5,000.

One Dutch parliament member has spoken against the new deal, and if enough support is gathered the EU could vote against the deal in April. A rejection by the Parliament could leave major commercial airlines serving trans-Atlantic routes in a form of legal limbo – as airline would be obliged to supply the information to the US – but face legal action from EU passengers.

The dispute over passenger name records (which can include names, addresses, phone numbers, itineraries and credit card numbers) demonstrates the differing priorities of the US and EU.

Carriers looking to improve their Advance Passenger Information provision and remain in line with the latest legal requirements can turn to the industry leaders ARINC. The AviSec Messaging service has served the air transport industry’s need for secure, reliable messaging for over 50 years. Secure delivery is paramount for airlines which must transmit API in the form of batch flight manifests to border control agencies in the destination country.

Interactive API requires a fast and efficient query-response environment. AviSec leverages ARINC’s travel industry messaging service and supports a broad spectrum of IP protocols and legacy airline protocols.

For more information please visit www.avisec-messaging.com.

Faster, friendlier AviNet Mail

February 13, 2012
Business Aviation News
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AviNet Mail is the Web-based face of ARINC’s industry-standard Type B messaging service. In a recent survey of nearly 200 users no fewer than 72 per cent said they were very satisfied with the service, more than 60 per cent reported that their Type B bills had fallen after they had adopted it, and nearly all of them said they would be glad to recommend it to others.

Flexibility is one of the key strengths of AviNet Mail. Messages can be read all over the world on wireless Internet-enabled handheld devices like the iPhone and Blackberry. And the service’s infrastructure has “any-to-any” interoperability built into it, allowing customers to select the user interface that best suits their applications without having to worry about compatibility with their business partners.

The new version is even faster and more user-friendly than the one already in full operation with more than 550 customers. They use it for a wide variety of functions, including monitoring flight departures and arrivals, load control, passenger and cargo handling, and arranging ground transportation, wheelchair assistance and special in-flight catering.

“We’re intent on helping our customers to achieve still more cost savings and improvements in efficiency,” says Laura Petrozziello, sales and business manager for aviation solutions at ARINC EMEA. “We listened to their views and have taken them into account in this further development of AviNet Mail.”

The new features include a very powerful desktop client that synchronises customer PCs with ARINC’s Webmail and has additional templates to help users to send the more labour-intensive standard messages quickly and accurately.

“Some of these message formats are very complicated,” says Petrozziello. “Our templates make the customer’s life a lot easier.” The new desktop also has a built-in customer care capability supported 24×7 by a call centre.

“This client is a full ARINC product that we manage end-to-end,” says Petrozziello. “It has all the rules you would expect from a corporate email client like Outlook, so that it’s very straightforward to filter, forward and manage messages.

For more information on Type B Messaging and to calculate if you could save money on Type B Messaging please visit typebcheck.com.

Leading Greek Handling Provider Switches to ARINC’s Type B Messaging Service

February 5, 2012
Business Aviation News Introduction
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Type B Messaging Services
Type B Messaging Services

Last week we heard that Goldair Handling has contracted ARINC to handle its Type B messaging. Goldair has migrated 28 addresses to ARINC’s user-friendly messaging solution AviNet® Mail. ARINC completed the installations in less than a month.

The AviNet Mail service offers low-cost Type B, e-mail and SMS messaging over a secure network. With its single interface from any internet connection, and a simple message-formatting template, AviNet Mail is ideal for airlines, cargo operations, flight dispatch operators and caterers, as well as ground handlers.

AviNet Mail sales manager, Carlos Fernandes, was stated The decision was based on ARINC’s superior technical support and straightforward billing system.”

ARINC’s AviNet Type B Messaging service is used for GLOBALink ACARS®, passenger reservations, aviation weather data, flight planning and more.

Developed for reliability, security and consideration of the economic considerations of business aviation, AviNet Type B Messaging Service handles over 20 million messages every day.

For more information please visit: www.typebmessaging-avinet.com.