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Gogo Partners with Ultramain Systems to Connect Aircraft Maintenance Reporting Applications

CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO), the global leader in providing broadband connectivity solutions and wireless in-flight entertainment to the aviation industry, is partnering with Ultramain Systems, a developer of airline operational software, to connect its industry leading aircraft maintenance applications.

This partnership between Gogo and Ultramain Systems highlights the value of the connected aircraft.  The robust connectivity services provided by Gogo will enable Ultramain’s advanced applications to be connected in real-time, which will give airline personnel the ability to assess aircraft maintenance issues as soon as they are detected.

“Aircraft maintenance reporting functions are traditionally accomplished using paper log books and analyzed by ground crews between take-offs and landings,” said Andrew Kemmetmueller, Gogo’s vice president of product for connected aircraft services. “Ultramain’s applications modernize this manual process into a digital one by building these applications into pilots’ Electronic Flight Bags, maintenance technicians’ mobile devices and airlines’ back-office systems.”

Ultramain Systems has developed many notable aircraft maintenance applications.  Applications that can now be connected using Gogo broadband connectivity include: efbTechLogs, which allow flight crews to transmit accurate data about problems on the aircraft; eReporting, an integrated flight crew reporting software that replaces paper Air Safety Reports; and eCabin, which provides passenger information such as special needs for passengers.

“Ultimately, this partnership can help improve airline efficiencies and reduce maintenance related delays and cancellations, creating a better passenger experience,” added Kemmetmueller.

To better understand Gogo’s vision for the connected aircraft, a copy of Gogo’s whitepaper titled, “Building the Case for the Connected Aircraft,” can be found here.

General Electric Flight Test Operations Chooses RAAS

Victorville, California  – General Electric Flight Test Operations (GEFTO) has selected RAAS by AIS for management of maintenance records and regulatory compliance for its highly specialized fleet of B747 engine test bed aircraft.

AIS Director of Operations and CEO, Eric Hansen, comments, “We are very proud to have been selected in this process. General Electric maintains very high standards of engineering professionalism and quality, and working to such high standards is specifically what AIS has been created to do.”

AerData signs agreements with Etihad and its partners for STREAM

Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 29 September 2016 – AerData, a Boeing Company, the provider of lease management, records management and engine fleet planning software, has signed an agreement to provide Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and its equity partner airlines, with AerData’s STREAM software.
 
STREAM (Secure Technical Records for Electronic Asset Management) is the industry’s foremost web-based solution used by some of the world’s largest airlines, lessors and MROs to manage aircraft and engine records.  
 
The agreement paves the way for Etihad Airways and its airline partners to operate exclusively with digital aircraft records, enabling each airline and the group as a whole to enhance daily operations and facilitate more efficient aircraft transfers. The airlines included under the contract are Etihad Airways, airberlin, Niki, Belair, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.
 
Jeff Wilkinson, Chief Executive of Etihad Airways Engineering, said, “The selection of AerData’s STREAM solution is part of our group-wide maintenance strategy for the 718 aircraft in the combined fleet. STREAM allows us and all our airline partners to operate a standard records platform, integrated with our MRO system AMOS, bringing group wide operating efficiencies and cost savings.”
 
Commenting on the announcement, Vincent van der Gulik, Director, Products and Services, AerData, said, “This announcement follows close co-operation between AerData, Etihad Airways and its partners to shape the future of records management, and deliver problem-free, efficient aircraft transfers. STREAM is the perfect platform to deliver group wide benefits to this unique airline partnership.”

Air France-KLM Selects Gogo for In-flight Connectivity

Gogo’s Industry Leading 2Ku to Connect Long-haul Aircraft

CHICAGO, Sept. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO), the global leader in providing broadband connectivity solutions and wireless entertainment to the aviation industry, announced today that it will partner with Air France-KLM to connect its existing long-haul fleet representing 124 aircraft, with an airline option to install the technology on additional aircraft in the future. 

The fleet of aircraft receiving Gogo’s 2Ku technology will include numerous aircraft types, including the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330s.

“We are delighted to bring Gogo’s industry leading 2Ku technology to one of the largest airlines in the world and two of the most iconic brands in commercial aviation,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO.  “2Ku delivers a ground-like performance to aircraft flying around the world today, including the ability to stream video.  One of the many benefits of 2Ku is that it’s built on an open architecture and can leverage new technology advancements in the future, which means the technology will get even better over time and will provide passengers with a superior connectivity experience now and in the future.”

The first aircraft is expected to be in service end of next year, with the bulk of the installations taking place during 2018-2019.

Gogo Announces Its Next Generation Ground Network to Support In-flight Connectivity in North America

Speeds Expected to Exceed 100 Mbps

CHICAGO, Sept. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO), the global leader in providing broadband connectivity solutions and wireless entertainment to the aviation industry, announced today that it is developing its next generation ground-based technology to better serve the connectivity needs of business and commercial aviation in North America.

This technology will offer a ground-like performance, including the ability to stream videos, for business aviation aircraft, commercial regional jets and select narrow-body aircraft operating within the United States and Canada.

“Gogo continues to bring the best in-flight connectivity technologies to market,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO.  “We now have upgrade paths to more than 100 Mbps for both our North American ground-based and our global satellite networks.”

The new network will use unlicensed spectrum, a proprietary modem and a new beam-forming antenna to produce peak network speeds of more than 100 Mbps.  This next generation ground-based network for the aero market will utilize LTE technology and leverage Gogo’s existing first generation North American network and infrastructure of more than 250 towers.

“Leveraging our first generation network is key to making this next generation network highly reliable and economical to deploy,” said Anand Chari, Gogo’s CTO.  “Gogo’s next generation network will also be backward-compatible with Gogo’s first generation network, which means an aircraft will be able to seamlessly switch between Gogo’s fthe two networks networks similar to how a cell phone on the ground connects to the fastest available network.”

The benefits of this new network for commercial aircraft operating within the United States and Canada include: low equipment cost and weight, overnight installation, and low drag on the aircraft due to the small size of the antennas.  It also has big advantages in terms of latency compared to satellite solutions.

Aircraft outfitted with one of Gogo’s earlier generation air-to-ground technologies will simply need to be outfitted with a new modem and blade antenna to take advantage of the new service.

The service is expected to be available in 2018.

AerData appoints Matthew Bull as CEO

Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 27 September 2016 – AerData, a Boeing Company, the provider of lease management, records management and engine fleet planning software, announced that Matthew Bull is named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AerData. Matt will be responsible for leading AerData through the next phase of growth, building on the solid foundation achieved by Mark Nieuwendijk and Paul van Tol, founders and former Co-CEO’s of AerData.

Matt joined Boeing in 2005 and has held various roles within the company. He most recently served as 787 Deputy Fleet Chief. In his role within the Fleet Chief Office, Matt engaged with 787 operators in North & South America providing around the clock support of technical issues. He excelled at establishing working together relationships with airline operators to address customer support concerns. Prior to his role in the fleet office Matt led the development, implementation, and deployment of ground software used for the transferring of data to/from aircraft network.
 
Matt brings to the company a track record of operational experience, technical breadth, a global business perspective, and a passion for customer support. Matt has an Electrical Engineering degree from Louisiana State University, a MS from University of Southern California, and an MBA from Seattle University. Matt and his family are in the process of relocating to Amsterdam.

Thales enhances presence in the Caribbean by providing Aruba with TopSky-AMHS & TopSky-AIS alongside with Wide Area Multilateration & ATC Training

Thales announces that Air Navigation Services Aruba (ANSA), the air navigation service provider responsible for monitoring and securing the skies over Aruba, an island in Dutch Caribbean, has selected Thales TopSky-AMHS & Thales TopSky-AIS, as well as the implementation of Wide Area Multilateration (MLAT/ADS-B).

The first project includes equipment and training for a complete Aeronautical Message Handling System (AMHS) and Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) which includes flight preparation services and capacity for NOTAM office and Meteo preparation services.

Thales has also been chosen by ANSA to implement Wide Area Multilateration (MLAT/ADS-B) for cooperative surveillance within Aruba’s airspace and increased Air Traffic Management capabilities. This second project will enable ANSA to process surveillance data from sensors and display them on the existing TopSky-ATC system supplied by Thales at the Reina Beatrix International Airport, Aruba.

These projects confirm the long standing partnership with ANSA, which started in 1989 when Thales supplied VOR/ILS/DME. These equipment were modernized in 2004 and in 2011 Aruba renewed its confidence in Thales to supply its TopSky Air Traffic Control Center.

“Thales has always been and is a reliable partner and their commitment to quality is extraordinary. The implementation of the TopSky-AMHS, TopSky-AIS and MLAT/ADS-B projects will help propel Aruba to the next level of safety and efficiency in the benefit of all our airspace users” declared Mr Nilknarf E.I. Kock, CEO of ANSA.

This contract also underlines Thales’s increasing presence in Latin America for ATM solutions following the recent success with Jamaica & COCESNA in 2015 and deployment in Mexico, Dominican Republic and Panama over the last years.

Air Nostrum opts for Lido/Flight 4D
Sep 27, 2016

Spanish regional airline renews contract for flight planning solution from Lufthansa Systems

Lufthansa Systems today announced that the Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum has renewed its contract for the Lido/Flight flight planning solution for another four years. The contract renewal is accompanied by a migration to the new product generation Lido/Flight 4D. With this Air Nostrum will benefit from an even better integration, a more modern graphical user interface and display, 4D optimization and extensively automated flight planning and control processes.

“We have been using the flight planning solution from Lufthansa Systems since 2005 because the product is very reliable and meets our needs,” said Carlos Lloréns, Ground Operations Director at Air Nostrum. “The new generation Lido/Flight 4D impressed us above all with the range and quality of its functions.”

The core features of the IT solution are the integrated and continually updated aeronautical database and the so-called optimizer. Based on all flight-related data, weather conditions and the current airspace situation including any restrictions, Lido/Flight 4D calculates the most suitable route for each flight.

Around 120 airlines with a total of more than 6,000 aircraft are currently using the flight planning solution from Lufthansa Systems, which has been successful on the market for more than 15 years. In June of this year, the first release of the new Lido/Flight 4D product generation was unveiled at the Lido/Flight User Group Conference – the next one is coming up this fall. This year’s releases cover certain basic components for migrating to current technologies as well as the first functional innovations and improvements for takeoff and landing weight optimization, crew briefing and route optimization.

“Air Nostrum’s contract renewal shows that our investment in the refinement of the solution based on feedback from our customers has paid off,” said Marco Cesa, Senior Vice President Regional Management EMEA at Lufthansa Systems. “Our innovative solution offers reliability and flexibility, simplifies routine tasks and makes it possible to quickly make the right decisions in critical situations.”

In various comparative analyses based on thousands of flight plans, Lido/Flight was able to reduce fuel costs by an average of 2 percent, cut flying times by 1.9 percent and save 1.6 percent of air traffic control fees compared to its competitors.

Air Nostrum operates under the Iberia Regional brand mostly within Spain, although it also serves destinations in Europe and North Africa. The Spanish airline is based in Valencia and is one of the three largest regional airlines in Europe.

Picture description (copyright: Lufthansa Systems): Airlines can optimally plan their routes with Lido/Flight from Lufthansa Systems.

Ka-band technology fitted as standard

Straightforward integration in the aircraft structure

Cutting-edge broadband communication now also on short- and medium-haul flights: Lufthansa Technik AG has started installing the latest Ka-band satellite technology as standard equipment for the Lufthansa Group’s entire Airbus A320 aircraft family. A total of around 300 aircraft will be fitted with the necessary antennae and routers in parallel in up to ten production lines by spring 2018 at various Lufthansa Technik locations.

The engineers at Lufthansa Technik have optimized the system installation procedure and minimized the required intervention in the aircraft structure. This allows the fastest possible integration even in large fleets – generally in four days per layover. Subsequent modifications and even complete dismantling of the installation to cater for any future as yet unknown technology developments are feasible without costly replacement of large structural elements.

Lufthansa Technik currently holds Supplemental Type Certificates (STC) for the Airbus A320 family and the Airbus A340 for installing the system. It is planned to include the Boeing 737 family and the Airbus A330 in the short term in order to provide full support for customers in particular in the Asian market for equipping their fleets with broadband communication technology.

“The procedure we have developed combined with Lufthansa Technik’s wealth of experience in the project management of extensive modification programs ensures that we can equip even large fleets with this technology in the shortest possible time,” says Lukas Bucher, Head of Connectivity at Lufthansa Technik. “We also want to make sure from the very outset that any technological advances that we may not yet be aware of or any changes in customer requirements can be retrofitted or converted with minimum overhead,” stresses Heike Handke, Product Manager Strategy and Business Development in the Aircraft Modification business unit of Lufthansa Technik.

Together with the partners Inmarsat and Lufthansa Systems, the Ka-band satellite technology will allow seamless, reliable coverage on short and medium-haul flights with Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) network. Passengers can use their own mobile devices to access the Internet via WLAN. In addition to simple e-mail services, more demanding applications and even streaming will therefore also be possible. Moreover, at a later point in time passengers will be able to transfer data using their mobile phones based on their own mobile phone contract, assuming this feature is approved by the respective airline.

Sabre AirCentre Crew Manager to Help JetBlue Manage Crew Resources

JetBlue Airways will be the first North American airline to use the next generation platform

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Sept. 15, 2016 – JetBlue Airways will introduce Sabre’s comprehensive crew management system that offers a range of crew scheduling, management, services and analytical capabilities. This new platform from Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, helps solve one of an airline’s biggest challenges – crew tracking and management – while also giving airline crew employees a more efficient way of interacting with the airline both on and off duty.

A fleet of hundreds of aircraft is manned by thousands of crew members – both flight deck and cabin crew. Each Crewmember has a unique schedule and preferences, so the sheer complexity and scale of the schedule that is developed, and then managed, makes this space ripe for technology innovation. Add in the dynamic operating environment with weather disruptions, schedule changes, rules, training, duty hours, vacation time, sick crew and reserve planning, this makes managing a crew schedule even more complex.

Additionally, the crew controller has a particularly challenging job creating and managing crew schedules, as they must constantly assimilate disparate information from many sources. Sabre Crew Manager offers a user-friendly interface that will allow controllers to manage by exception, while using real-time data to make decisions. This drastically reduces a controller’s effort and helps them focus on the most critical decisions rather than spending time gathering information
and producing options. All this leads to an airline saving time, controlling costs, but most importantly, limiting flight delays – enhancing the experience for the customer and the work process for the Crewmember.

“We designed Crew Manager to increase crew utilization and satisfaction with schedules that put the right crew in the right place at the right time,” said Dana Jones, senior vice president, Sabre Airlines Solutions. “Crew Manager adapts to constant change that occurs at an airline and accommodates an airline’s changing business processes, operations requirements, contractual agreements and government regulations. The solution’s architecture allows it to integrate with airline’s existing technology environment.”

Sabre has built Crew Manager with an intuitive, customizable user-interface and a highly configurable rules engine, giving airlines greater control and flexibility than before. The company has also integrated Sabre’s crew disruption management technology, Recovery Manager Crew, with Crew Manager. JetBlue has been using this solution and has seen significant reductions in the impact they have faced from a major disruptions like severe weather.

“Crew management is a very complex area of work and is vital in maintaining an efficient operation,” said Alex Battaglia, Senior Vice President of System Operations for JetBlue. “Having a system that genuinely helps us manage this complexity and best serve our Crewmembers is a priority. This new Sabre platform will help us greatly.”

“Sabre has been a key partner of JetBlue, and Crew Manager will allow us to better serve the vision of our expanding operation,” added Eash Sundaram, JetBlue’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

Sabre’s leading crew solutions are used by more than 100 airlines globally today, and Sabre’s AirCentre Crew Manager highlights its ongoing commitment to provide innovative capabilities for airlines.