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FEATURE IT SYSTEmS

mORE INFORmATION, mORE ACCESS,
24-seven availability and 100% reliability.
That’s what passengers today expect from
their airlines. They want to be able to book
a flight, access details of a flight, sort
out hired cars and hotels and insurance,
check in and go – exactly when and where
it suits them. And it can be through a
desktop PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet.
Everyone – whether passengers, staff
or other users – expects instant and
utterly reliable access to all the real-
time data they want. We’ve all seen the
passenger in the queue, looking at their
mobile phone and swearing. Not because
it doesn’t work, but because it’s taking a
few seconds to load or confirm a payment.
Travellers today want it all, and they
want it now. Aviation IT does a remarkable
job of providing that information, keeping
schedules humming, keeping everything
safe, putting the right people in the
right place at the right time, and even
turning a profit for the operators too. of multiple stakeholders who are facing customer service by smarter use of ‘big
It’s an astonishing achievement, and one their own challenges,” he says. “They’ve data’. And make no mistake – it is big.
“Today’s aircraft can generate up
that has crept up on us from the not-so- got to keep global, regional and local to a half-terabyte of data per flight,
infrastructures up and running, while
distant days when air tickets were written
PICTURE FROM AMADEUS out by hand at the travel agent’s office, managing a whole range of vendors and a an unprecedented volume and variety
dizzying array of applications.”
of data seen in few other industries,”
then couriered to our offices before we
says Timothy J. Wholey, Global Leader,
Watkins sees two sets of challenges.
queued to book in at the counter.
It’s not just passengers who live in
The first is how to ensure ease of use for
Aerospace & Defence Industry, IBM Global
an IT-driven world. Airline operators and
airports want to join up their data sources consumers – passengers, airline/airport Business Services. Wholey says the link up
staff or other regulatory system users.
with Airbus will tap a smart way to extract
to provide better security and background They all expect simplicity, speed and real-time data, identify patterns and act
intelligence, better marketing potential, resilience, but don’t always understand on insights to help improve efficiency and
improved customer experiences – and the underlying complexity. This puts enhance the passengers’ travel experience
of course improved cost structures for massive strain on the industry’s network in all connected Airbus products.
everything from fuel consumption to and data infrastructures. Capacity, The newly minted Airbus Smarter Fleet
selling inflight movies to iPads. That’s volume, speed and resilience are all being Solutions (ASFS) will initially focus on
before we even touch upon the demands pushed to new limits. And where there are integrating existing software management
and firewalled links to background bodies big challenges, big solutions are required, products (‘e-solutions’), but will also
like immigration departments, security from big players. extend its capability to provide tailored
forces, governments, air traffic navigation fleet data management using an open,
bodies, cargo shippers and aircraft Inside job modular and flexible platform. According
leasing companies. Operators in aviation As a result, corporate giants Airbus to Didier Lux, EVP Customer Services,
IT talks about ‘big data’. They probably and IBM have teamed up to offer fleet Airbus, the agreement is a “major step
need a bigger adjective than just ‘big’ – IT solution offerings, which will provide in the implementation of Airbus’ aim to
more like ‘gargantuan’ data. airlines and operators with advanced provide airlines with strong added-value
According to Rob Watkins, Senior VP computerised services for maintenance, innovative services” – which now that the
at SITA Global Services, the demands on engineering and flight operations. The
any system are as big as the data. “The IT fleet services are designed to put all the
operators have got to provide an always- data in one locker, to enhance operational ABOVE: Airbus flight data
on network that’s closely interlinked efficiencies, help airlines to manage their is often managed with the
and interdependent, with an ecosystem aircraft more effectively and improve help of the iPad
WWW.ASIANAIRLINES-AIRPORTS.COM SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2013 ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS 21