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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.

FAA Approves Use of ARINC’s HFDL Network for Air Traffic Control Data Link Communications

February 14, 2012
Business Aviation News
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ARINC Flight Deck Communications Services

ARINC Flight Deck Communications Services

Last week we heard that following a recent trial, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has prepared the way for data link Air Traffic Control (ATC) communications over the global High Frequency Data Link (HFDL) network of ARINC Incorporated.

This decision means that aircraft already using HFDL for operational communications will be capable of using the ARINC service to communicate with controllers as well.

 “By offering customers maximum diversity in media, including Satellite, VHF and HFDL, ARINC is in the unique position of delivering the most robust communications package possible,” stated Bill Doyen, ARINC’s HFDL Program Manager. “The aviation industry has already embraced HFDL, as evidenced by its two largest airframe makers providing HFDL forward-fit on all new long-range aircraft coming off their lines.”

HFDL is a unique global data communications service available only through ARINC. Ground stations located around the world provide overlapping, redundant HFDL coverage everywhere on the planet, including the north and south polar regions. ARINC’s HFDL service has experienced consistent double-digit growth year after year.

This is just one of the many flight deck communication and flight support services available through ARINC. More information can be found at http://www.business-flight-support.com/.

Could aviation Biofuels be competitive?

February 13, 2012
Business Aviation News
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Today we heard that Bloomberg New Energy Finance have published forecasts suggesting that the cost of some biofuels could be similar to that of conventional jet fuel by 2018.

The International Air Transport Association stated that by 2020, 6% of jet fuel should be made up of biofuels. However, airlines might end up using only a modest proportion of biofuels in their fuel mix in the next few years due to limited availability of low cost, certified bio-fuel.

Harry Boyle, lead bioenergy analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance said ‘If governments want airlines to burn a significant proportion of non-fossil fuel before 2020, they will have either to subsidise advanced-but-not-yet-economic biofuels or, more likely, introduce mandates requiring carriers to use a certain percentage of sustainable biofuels in their mix, and put up with complaints that this is driving up ticket prices.’

Biofuels made from non-food vegetable oils like jatropha or camelina, or from the pyrolysis of cellulosic feedstocks, should be the first types to become competitive after the move to large-scale production. Jatropha, for example, has the potential to produce jet fuel at $0.86 (€0.65) per litre by 2018.

While European carbon credits at the moment are so cheap they have negligible effects on ticket prices, biofuels will be competitive within a decade,’ says Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. ‘However, available volume is going to be limited and airlines will be in competition for it, so those airlines which move now are likely to have an advantage later.’

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.

ARINC vMUSE at Berlin Brandenburg Airport

February 4, 2012
Business Aviation News
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ARINC vMUSE Airport Common Use Systems

ARINC vMUSE Airport Common Use Systems

 

This week we wanted to look at the ARINC vMUSE product. We heard in January that ARINC won a contract with Bradenburg contract in Berlin to supply and install the passenger check-in and departure systems for 31 airlines and handling agents, with capacity for 27 million passengers each year, with room for further expansion.
ARINC will install its common use passenger processing system (CUPPS) – vMUSE ¬– as well as its BagLink baggage information distribution system. vMUSE includes self-service kiosks and baggage drops.
 
54 workstations have already been implemented on a live test environment, the hardware installation is expected to be completed in February, and at full operation ARINC will have rolled out vMUSE on 153 workstations for check-in and back office desks, and on 188 boarding gate workstations.
ARINC have also installed its AviNet Airport service at the gateway, allowing for airlines to connect to the host systems immediately.
vMUSE Enterprise, the latest version of ARINC’s well-known MUSE® (Multi-User System Environment) common use platform, combines the security and reliability of vMUSE with advanced virtualisation technology to provide seamless, multi-airline check-in without having to install and manage on-site servers and platform software. This 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 vmuse-enterprise.com.

FAA: US Business jet activity continues to rise

January 13, 2012
Business Aviation News
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Business Jets Activity Increasing

Business Jets Activity Increasing

2011 saw an increase in business jet activity we heard this week from FLIGHT. Starting in 2009 numbers have continued to rise the US Federal Aviation Administration’s enhanced traffic management system reported.

As of the end of November, the FAA counted 3.6 million business jet operations for the calendar year.This tally would appear to be on track to break the 2010 yearly total of 3.8 million operations by about 3% if December figures follow trends from previous months. The December 2010 to November 2011 operations total was up more than 4% compared with the previous year tally.

The top three business aircraft models in terms of usage since December 2010 were the Cessna Citation XLS family, with more than 320,000 operations through the end of November, followed by the Hawker 750/850/900 series at nearly 300,000 operations, and the Cessna Citation Ultra/Encore line.

Teterboro airport, near New York city, continued to be the top US airport for business jet activity, with more than 123,000 operations in the same period, followed by nearby Westchester County, at 60,000 operations, and Dulles international, at 57,000 operations.