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Focus on: latest version of ARINC’s renowned vMUSE®

October 1, 2012
Business Aviation News
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Virtual Airport Common Use Systems vMUSE Enterprise, the latest version of ARINC’s well-known MUSE® (Multi-User System Environment is a common use platform that offers an advanced virtual technology,  providing all in one multi-airline check-in without having to connect to on-site servers or platform software – using the private cloud of ARINC.

The benefits of vMUSE Enterprise, which has the capabilities as full-size server-based terminal, are that airlines and airports can enjoy power savings, space savings and reduced up-front capital costs. It also reduces operational and maintenance costs. Key components of vMUSE Enterprise are safely stored in the cloud so it can be quickly set up in any environment where power and the internet are available. Ideal for small and seasonal airports, airport parking terminals, rental car facilities, transit stations, and overflow use. This “pay-as-you-go” service reduces expenditure, minimises overheads with immediate access.

Existing PC’s can be converted to vMUSE Enterprise physical clients, and those who opt to replace traditional PCs with thin client workstations can realise further cost savings. With no moving parts, support costs are lower and the power consumption of thin client devices is considerably less than that of a PC.

To find out additional information view the website: http://www.vmuse-enterprise.com/

ARINC gets RAK Airport contract

October 1, 2012
Business Aviation News
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ARNIC is to implement multiple airport systems at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport
Ras Al Khaimah:ARINC Incorporated, has won a multi-million dollar, 10-year contract to implement multiple airport systems at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport in the UAE.

The project, which involves the design, supply and installation of ARINC’s core suite of airport passenger processing solutions, as well as advanced airport operational systems, will include common use passenger processing systems (CUPPS) and boarding operations at the expanding airport. The deal was announced on Sunday in Abu Dhabi at the 18th World Route Development Forum (World Routes) by Tony Lynch, Regional Director, ARINC Middle East & Africa, and Andrew Gower, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.

The installation of VMuse/CUPPS, L-DCS, AirVue (FIDS), AirDB (AODB), InfoHub and Multi-Channel at RAK, in what will be the first off-site hotel check-in and bag drop in the region, will also equip the airport with future intelligence that will change the way in which people use it today.

It is anticipated that the number of CUPPS workstations and services will increase during the lifetime of the contract, as not only is the existing terminal being expanded, but there are plans for a new passenger terminal, dedicated to charter activity. Tony Lynch highlighted that ARINC won the bid through its close collaboration and consultation with the team at RAK Airport.

“We spent 18 months carefully ascertaining their requirements,” he said. “From a small hosted L-DCS the scope has been extended to the airport-wide suite of products which has now been ratified.”
“RAK International Airport’s current expansion will see the airport ready to receive the steadily increasing number of passengers over the next few years,” said Gower. “We are confident that ARINC is the right partner in this programme as their refreshing approach and industry knowledge ticks all the boxes for hi-tech, efficient, integrated airports. We needed a partner who could embrace the concept of taking the airport out into the wider Ras Al Khaimah, the resorts, hotels and the city.”

To find out more about ARINC’s vMuse product please visit their site: http://www.vmuse-enterprise.com/

Evolving Self-Service Kiosks

July 4, 2012
Business Aviation News
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Evolving Self-Service Kiosks

Evolving Self-Service Kiosks

In June Airport Business Magazine featured the evolution of the kiosk. As passengers come to expect technologies to make their check in process simpler companies such as ARINC have reacted to the demand to offer ever increasingly advanced solutions.Common-use self-service (CUSS) kiosks are now extensively used across Europe, but now we are seeing the next generation – kiosks that allow passengers to check-in, select their seat, print boarding passes, and print out their own baggage tags.

ARINC provides cost effective solutions for private and commercial airlines to improve efficiency and security.

In recent years common-use technology that enables multiple airlines to share computer systems at airport check-in desks and boarding gates has become well established. The next decade will see many airports and airlines moving away from PC-based applications to those hosted in cloud computing environments. The advantages of hosted services include not only lower capital outlay and greater efficiency, but also a reduction in power consumption, space requirements and IT airport costs.

ARINC will continue to exploit the benefits of common-use technology by designing new systems to meet the ever-changing demands of the industry. At the same time, the company provides a comprehensive service to enhance customers’ legacy solutions, ensuring they are CUPPS (Common-use Passenger Processing System) compliant and certified.

It is all part of the service at ARINC, which has significant experience in delivering reliable, versatile and innovative solutions to improve all airport operations, from baggage management and passenger reconciliation to terminal optimisation and automated turnaround activity.

ARINC Contract Renewed by Tan Son Nhat International Airport

May 24, 2012
Business Aviation News
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This month we heard that Tan Son Nhat International Airport has asked ARINC to continue their contract to provide maintenance and support services for its passenger processing systems. Multiple products are in place there including the common use system, which processes passengers faster and more efficiently by sharing airport infrastructure and resources

“We are very pleased to renew our maintenance contract with ARINC,” said Mr. Tran Van Thang, Deputy General Director of the former SAC. “They have provided us with an exceptional level of support, and our customers, including the airlines and ground handling companies have given us very positive feedback on system performance.”

ARINC offers a multitude of multi user system environment solutions for passenger processing at airports.  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.

For more information please visit: www.vmuse-enterprise.com

Virtual airport common use systems

Virtual airport common use systems

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.

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.

Investigating Common-use Passenger Processing Systems

January 12, 2012
Business Aviation News
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The choice of common-use passenger processing systems available to airlines and airport operators was significantly broadened four months ago when ARINC’s established vMUSE product achieved CUPPS 1.1 certification.

Common Use Passenger Processing Systems

Common Use Passenger Processing Systems

Endorsed by global organisations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing System) is the key industry standard designed to promote uniformity in passenger processing platforms. Compliance reduces the time, effort and cost associated with deploying individual airline applications for check-in and other functions at the airport.

vMUSE received the CUPPS 1.1 stamp of approval in September 2010 following a successful beta test programme at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and extensive formal compliance testing by renowned independent software validation provider Lufthansa Systems. “Independently proven adherence to the specification will assure the success of CUPPS,” says Lufthansa Systems’ Dietrich Hasselhorn, who oversaw the work. “ARINC’s vMUSE successfully passed compliance testing to prove it can successfully run any airline application written to the CUPPS 1.1 standard.”

ARINC installed the world’s first live operational CUPPS platform at Las Vegas in January 2009. Since then it has handled over 250,000 passengers, successfully running multiple airline applications .

Rob Sutton, ARINC global product manager, worked closely with IATA during development of the CUPPS standard and subsequently on the Las Vegas pilot programme and final certification testing.

“CUPPS is the first joint industry recommended practice to have been backed by IATA, ACI (Airports Council International) and ATA the US Air Transport Association,” he says. “It was formally released in November 2009, though our pilot programme at Las Vegas had been running to the initial CUPPS 1.0 standard since January of that year. Lufthansa Systems completed its testing of vMUSE/CUPPS 1.1 in a single week last March, and we have been offering a completely compliant product to the market for the past four months.”

There is at least one other compliant offering on the market, but Sutton is confident that the prospects for many more vMUSE/CUPPS 1.1 implementations are bright. “vMUSE can support both CUPPS and legacy airline applications simultaneously. If an airport operator chooses vMUSE it is covered for all possible scenarios: whatever the application selected by each individual carrier, the airport can be confident that vMUSE will support it.”

The CUPPS standard continues to evolve. Version 1.2, was agreed in 2010, while Version1.3 , which will be released early this year, will focus on printing, with a particular emphasis on Windows spooling and printing. “We’re already working to apply the new versions to VMUSE,” says Sutton. “CUPPS is the future of passenger processing, and we are determined to keep our products aligned with this industry recommended practice.

For more information visit www.vmuse-enterprise.com.