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| Austrian Airlines flight. Photo: Wikimedia |
[Avionics Today 02-03-2016] Austria’s flagship carrier, Austrian Airlines has emerged as the launch customer for a new mobile solution, eFlight Manager, developed by Sabre. The eFlight Manager technology enables real-time Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), weather and flight plan updates throughout the lifecycle of the airline’s flights if Air-to-Ground (ATG) communication is available in the cockpit.
The technology enables airlines to access digital flight planning information and aims to provide pilots with the necessary information to track and avoid bad weather. Airlines will also be able to adjust fuel calculations based on this data.
Since the launch of the beta phase at the start of November, a small test group at Austrian Airlines has been using the solution in-flight on tablet devices. Through integrated systems and real-time downloads of the latest flight data, Austrian Airlines has been able to achieve a common view between pilots and dispatchers, enabling greater efficiency in flight planning. The solution will also help the airline improve post-flight analysis and planning by synchronizing aircraft and ground-based data.
The airline will roll out the new technology to its entire flight staff of 950 in the coming months, and will start using the mobile recalculation capabilities to realize additional fuel savings and operational efficiencies.