16th October 2019

With all the emphasis on Electronic Flight Bags and flight tracking in recent years it’s become all too easy to overlook other areas where significant performance gains can be found throughout the flight operations, dispatch and crew briefing process.

Selecting a standalone EFB or EFF that’s simply of benefit to the flight deck could restrict the ability to implement a far more connected platform, hampering the performance gains and improvements that could otherwise be achieved.

We know there are improvements to be found by delivering a fully digital EFB platform in the cockpit but that’s by no means where the improvements, or to that end the savings, need to start or finish so why consider a solution that only tackles the needs of one business area?

All too often, we work with EFB project teams that are not aligned to, or working cohesively with, flight operations and dispatch colleagues resulting in the selection of solutions that aren’t connected to wider business needs and only deliver a portion of what could have been achieved. 

It may well be all that is required at that point in time but it may also see an airline or operator only achieving a partial transition across to fully digital and integrated platforms which means there is a strong chance that time is still being wasted, workflows are still over-complimented, processes could become disjointed and above all, there will be resources carrying out tasks that simply aren’t required if the right solution is chosen.

This is where skybook comes in!

Unlike a lot of alternative solutions on the market, skybook is the complete package having been engineered to streamline the flight operations, dispatch and crew briefing process through seamless automation, removing the need for outdated labour intensive requirements and most of all, by taking the very best data sets directly from their source and using them as the basis for vital weather and NOTAM updates.

This means that 3rd party integrations can then be delivered to add further value and functionality to our clients rather than being a pre-requisite in order to make skybook actually deliver what’s been marketed.

All of our skybook modules are developed in-house meaning that we are more responsive to client needs and we are able to tailor and configure the vast majority of skybook in order to maximise time savings, streamline workflows and reduce the strain on flight operations, dispatch, aircrews and even maintenance teams.

How does it work then?

We’re more than happy to show you skybook in detail and to even give you a free trial account to evaluate each module but for now, we’ll keep this explanation high level and turn our focus to one vital aspect – crew briefing.

skybook is a flexible and modular standalone solution in its own right and the only integration it requires is with a flight planning system in order to automatically import OFP’s for each sector and to populate daily flight schedules within the dispatch module.

Once an OFP has been imported for a flight, skybook automatically reviews all weather, NOTAM, departure, destination, en-route and ETOPS alternatives against operator settings, minima, aircraft requirements and alerting criteria and a full digital briefing pack is generated ready for release to the crew.

Ideally, we work closely from the outset with both flight ops and flight deck project teams to understand collective requirements and to create a skybook configuration that streamlines the two-way flow of information and data across all core platforms, regardless of where they sit within the company.

Flexible user settings allow the briefing process to be tailored to match operator workflows and procedures in order to help the regulatory approval process and ensure operators only make process changes because there’s a benefit, not because the solution requires it.

Should any of the weather conditions or NOTAM updates breach the warning thresholds, alerts are triggered against all relevant areas of skybook, most notably within the Electronic Flight Bag digital briefing and they also feature prominently throughout the PDF based pack which can be used as a backup in the event of a problem or tablet failure which again aids the regulatory approval process.

skybook briefings focus on the needs of aircrews, maximising every opportunity to reduce information overload by focusing on the most vital data helping reduce workloads, save time and most importantly, reducing the chances of something vital being missed within the pack.

Auto alerting is also a prominent feature within both Airfield Watch and Flight Following, helping flight operations and tracking teams monitor weather conditions and NOTAM updates across all global airfields of interest with ease via highly intuitive automated dashboards that refresh the data and review it every 60 seconds.

If a problem emerges, you’ll be the first to know, even if you are logged out of skybook, and you’ll have the infomation available to better inform real time decision making.

Our focus here has been quite narrow, demonstrating the impact of skybook on just one aspect – crew briefing, but if you magnify the impact of inefficiency and having solutions that aren’t fit for purpose across every sector being flown, it becomes a bigger problem with every passing day. 

The reality is that each and every skybook module will help to deliver significant improvements straight out of the box which then allows us to focus on finding additional gains through further integrations rather than relying on 3rd party integrations to deliver the most basic of information and functionality.

If you are yet to embrace technology, it’s time that we spoke.

Starting your skybook journey couldn’t be simpler. Either visit our website  or email us and we’ll set the wheels in motion.