Southwest Airlines has chosen AvioBook to equip its fleet with digital technology designed to streamline operations and help eliminate 88 million pages of paper the carrier prints every year.
The electronic flight bag technology is in use with more than 65 airlines including United, Frontier, KLM, IndiGo and Wizz. Southwest brings it to the largest U.S. airline in terms of domestic passengers. Southwest should have the technology in 2024, AvioBook, owned by Thales, said.
Southwest’s multi-year contract with AvioBook provides pilots with a technology platform that includes the only fully-integrated Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and Electronic Logbook (eLB) solution on the market to improve efficiency throughout the operation, the company says.
“Southwest is thrilled to collaborate with AvioBook to modernize our operation and introduce cutting-edge technology solutions directly benefiting our frontline employees,” said Steve Christl, vice president of operations, strategy and implementation at Southwest Airlines. “These advancements not only streamline processes but also eliminate numerous paper-based documents. This shift empowers our Employees to dedicate more time and focus on delivering Southwest Hospitality to our valued Customers.”
The airline also signed an agreement to equip the entirety of its Boeing 737 NG fleet with the company’s Aircraft Interface Device (AID), known as AvioCast, which will provide real-time aircraft data to various operational groups.
Once installed, it will provide real-time aircraft data to various operational groups to mitigate safety risks, enhance compliance, add technology redundancy and resiliency, and increase environmental sustainability, all while enabling shorter turn times.
Southwest says this is one in a list of trailblazing moves incorporating digital technologies to improve travel experience for customers and for its employees.
At least 4,000 aircraft and 100,000 flights per week carry AvioBook, the company said. .
“We look forward to helping bring together all Southwest stakeholders from across the airline, improving communications and workflows while eliminating paper,” said AvioBook Chief Executive Frédéric Dru.