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Mission Critical Messaging Upgrade for Mihin Lanka & SriLankan Airlines

December 4, 2013
Business Aviation News
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SriLankan Airlines Upgrade Passenger Processing Systems as Tourism GrowsSriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka have announced an upgrade to the AMADEUS Altea Suite for enhanced mission critical messaging capability as a part of the bid to become more ‘customer centric.’

The messaging system will allow the airline to manage more effectively passenger reservations, departure control and inventory processes.

Although the changeover, scheduled for 7th and 8th December will cause slight disruption, it is hoped that this will be minor and should not affect online check-in, other than the duration reduced to 24 hours.

SriLankan Airlines offices will be available by telephone throughout the changeover to deal with the redemption of air miles for FlySmiLes members between 6th and 13th December.

Once completed, the changeover will make a significant difference to passenger processing, streamlining operations and procedures, bringing passengers an enhanced travel experience.

The new system plays a major role in the expansion of SriLankan Airlines and also with the planned induction into the OneWorld Alliance in the first part of 2014.

DW International Aviation Consultancy & Navtech Partner for Flight Planning

December 4, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Leading TypeB Messaging Consultancy ServicesUK-based aviation consultants, DW International have announced a new partnership with Navtech, leading in-flight operations software and services providers. The partnership agreement will provide GPS coverage information for airports and routes for the Navtech Flight Plan (NFP) customers to meet PBN guidelines and mandatory State requirements.

Bill Macey, Product Director of Flight Planning at Navtech said, “The relationship with DWI will strengthen the Navtech Flight Plan product. We are continuously motivated to provide our customers with superior quality offerings, especially when they are supported by a partnership with a reputable aviation firm like DWI. Their reliable 24/7 service, along with their initial help desk support will afford our users peace of mind.”

DW International brings technical support as an independent consultancy for aviation communications, navigations and air traffic management.

Many companies enlist the services of consultancy firms for product planning and advice in many areas of aviation.

Leading industry companies, such as ARINC, operate independent consultancy agencies calling upon combined years of experience and technical knowledge to assist the industry with messaging solutions, communications appraisals and operational activities to streamline facilities, maximising cost effective practices across the board.

New Air Reconnaissance Unit Deployed

November 30, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Solutions ProvidersThe P-8A Poseidon aircraft is being used for the first time this week for air reconnaissance as it takes off from Naval Air Station, Jacksonville.

Squadron members have been preparing for the past year for their maiden voyage with the P-8A into active duty.

Communications systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions need to provide seamless reliability for mission-critical transmissions.

Satellite network communications, such as Inmarsat SwiftBroadband provide the ideal platform for military and government users, able to deliver simultaneous voice and data communications with optional guaranteed bandwidth for important mission-critical high-traffic services.

The high speed wireless IP data and circuit-switched networks offer streaming data rates of 256kbps with shared capacity IP data rates of up to 432kbps.

 

New Electronic Flight Bag Service Contract Agreed with Jeppesen and MNG Airlines

November 22, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Electronic Flight Bag to Reduce Weight & Improve OperationsTurkish MNG Airlines have signed a 5-year contract with Jeppesen, part of Boeing Digital Aviation, for an electronic flight bag service with iPad integration as a part of an initiative to the paper-free cockpit.

Electronic flight bag solutions enhance operational productivity with the reduction of pilot workload and paperwork and the efficiency of having essential in-flight information at the touch of a button, or at the touch of a finger with the iPad applications.

The fuel consumption aspects of flight operations can also be improved through weight reduction.

Jeppesen will deliver the flight data to airline iPads via their web-based distribution manager (JDMPro), which will ensure fast and reliable delivery of navigational and operational data, while maintaining a secure network.

Other electronic flight bag services providers, such as ARINC, bring additional services to the table with in-flight solutions for cabin services, flight planning and flight support services for an end-to-end experience.

Plans to Expand Routes and Attract More Passengers to UAE & Ras Al Khaimah Airport

November 20, 2013
Business Aviation News
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The capture of passenger data is always important and new technology at RAK International airport will be utilized to its utmost as plans to expand routes to bring more passengers to the UAE and RAK International in particular are well underway.

The improvements to the airport itself and its infrastructure has increased capacity to 1.5 million passengers and all will need passenger processing and passenger data transfer.

“We are catering to the growth of RAK Airways and the expansion of routes to Ras Al Khaimah from Europe, the CIS (Commonwealth of the Independent States), Russia and Western Europe,” Mohammad Qazi, acting CEO of Ras Al Khaimah International, said.

RAK Airways has already expanded its destinations this year to 12, launching a service to Riyadh, Islamabad and Amman and has plans to add another 40 destinations with the expansion of its fleet.

Russian Ural Airlines operating from Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow is expected to bring in an additional 12,000 Russian visitors to the UAE, utilising RAK hotels and restaurants and helping to increase revenue and ultimately investment to bring the total hotel and resort space to 10,000 rooms by 2016.

Ras Al Khaimah International has been in talks with European airlines to encourage further business, two of which, Jet Air and Russia’s Ural Airlines have brought their operations to the airport.

The growing sector is encouraging emerging markets, such as Russia with plans for expansion and economic growth.  Aviation companies, such as ARINC, who have a dedicated Russian language site, are supportive of the emergence of Eastern European business.

Airbus Cabin Services Communications Retrofit Approved for A380

November 12, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Airbus, Panasonic Avionics and Lufthansa Technik have joined forces in a retrofit operation to improve cabin services for all in-service A380s.  The agreement will bring broadband connectivity and mobile phone services to the aircraft.

David Bruner, vice president for global communications services at Panasonic Avionics said, “With this agreement we have made great progress with Lufthansa Technik towards providing this very important service to our airline customers and their passengers. We can now provide our broadband services on every aircraft type, which has always been our goal.”

Cabin Services Solutions for Enhanced Passenger ServicesIn addition to the benefit for passengers with access to the Internet and the ability to send and receive calls and SMS messages, the retrofit will bring enhanced Cabin Services possibilities for cabin crew.

Cabin Services give cabin crew greater access to flight information, passenger information and can be forewarned of problems, i.e. lost baggage in advance to enable them to deal with issues on board, before touchdown.

Other cabin services providers, such as ARINC, offer global solutions to airlines to enable increased passenger services efficiency and experience.

Major Overhaul of Gatwick’s Vintage Technology Planned to Improve Communications Infrastructure

November 10, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Operational Messaging & Communication Infrastructure SolutionsThe communications infrastructure of Gatwick Airport is set for a major overhaul to replace vintage 1950’s technology for the latest cloud-based communications services.

Gatwick is the UK’s second largest airport serving an ever-increasing passenger list of 34.2 million every year.  The project will vastly improve passenger services in addition to 2,500 airport end-users and commercial customers, while reducing costs as staff will be given access through any device.

A five-year contract to upgrade and revamp the communications infrastructure will be carried out by Xchanging, with support from Cisco and Fujitsu.

The aim is to understand the communications infrastructure with a heavy focus upon making Gatwick a key contender, not just for the UK, but for Europe as a key choice.

Michael Ibbitson, CIO of Gatwick airport said, “ By adopting this new approach, we will be transforming the way our staff operates – video conferencing with each other, for instance and working from home effectively during snow days.  This slicker operation will have a significant impact on passenger experience which is what we are always striving to improve.”

The project began earlier this autumn and has a hosted voice and collaboration service.

It is critical for communications infrastructure to understand the messaging needs of an airport and operations to ensure maximum benefits and operational productivity.  Consultancy providers are worth their weight in this respect.

General Aviation ‘Red Tape’ Regulations Alterations Planned by the UK

November 8, 2013
Business Aviation News
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It has been announced that the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) plan to look at what are deemed as unnecessary bureaucracy regulations within the UK general aviation industry this week.

The GA Red Tape Challenge, launched in April, includes proposed changes by the CAA which have been suggested by GA industry stakeholders and operators, in the hope that a deregulation of certain aspects of the industry will be affected.

It has been said by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) that the Department of Transport in the UK can start to apply the same safety requirements expected of commercial aviation to non-commercial under EU regulations for the fitness and performance program (REFIT).  The CAA will be looking for clarification of the regulatory conditions for GA aircraft.

Robert Goodwill, aviation minister for the Department of Transport said, “General aviation is an extremely important sector of UK civil aviation and it is right that we do everything possible to enable it to thrive. That includes making sure that, where appropriate, we ease the burden on what are often smaller operators and businesses who find navigating a complex regulatory framework particularly challenging.”

“We are absolutely committed to improving the way we regulate GA. We have made a start, for instance deregulating in some areas and delegating responsibilities in others. But there is much more we can do,” said Dame Deirdre Hutton, chairman of the CAA. “The new, dedicated GA Unit is a formal recognition that GA needs a different and less onerous regulatory regime to commercial air transport.”

In the US, similar reforms are being proposed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, who are awaiting decisions to be made by the Senate in relation to smaller aircraft and the FAA’s regulatory conditions for the category.

ARINC AviNet Mail and ACARS Solution Chosen by Bingo Airways

November 8, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Bingo Airways Select ARINC Data Communications SolutionsBingo Airways, Polish charter airline has announced that it has selected ARINC’s AviNet Mail solution for mission-critical transmissions and GLOBALink ACARS solution for instant air-to-ground and ground-to-air data communications.

Bingo will use these industry-leading products for reliability, cost-effective messaging solutions and increased operational efficiency.

“Bingo chose ARINC because of our high quality European VHF and Global HF datalink services,” said Alexis Hickox, Senior Director, Aviation Solutions. “Our customers are telling us that the combination of superior products, low cost and outstanding service makes ARINC’s solution for airlines the best in the industry. We are excited to be working with Bingo Airways.”

The ARINC AviNet Mail brings operators efficient Type B, SMS and email messaging opportunities for business-to-business operations, such as maintenance, parts orders and ground-based supply staff.

ARINC’s combined solutions will give increased and enhanced flight safety insights to Bingo, which was their top priority.

NBAA Reaches Milestone 10,000 Members

November 8, 2013
Business Aviation News
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For the first time in the organisation’s history, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced last week that its membership has now reached 10,000 registered members.

The 10,000th member is named as TCB Air LLC from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The NBAA was founded in 1947 by a small group of the Wings Club who met in a New York hotel in 1946.  They realised the critical need for some organization within Business Aviation in the area of air space management and air traffic control.

Founding member, Mr Palmer J Lathrop or Bud to his flying associates, stressed the importance of the promotion and protection of the interest of business aircraft operators and led the way in an informal meeting of 13 aviators on May 17 1946.

Mr Lathrop wrote to the Presidents of a number of aviation companies and invited them to take representation at a further meeting to continue the important discussions.

A total of sixteen companies were eventually represented at the meeting on 21st November 1946 and led to the formation of the Corporation Aircraft Owners Association which was later to become the NBAA in 1953 following the Korean War, but the first A stood as Aircraft until 1997 upon its 50th anniversary, when the final decision was made to settle upon the National Business Aviation Association that it is today.