More than 350 customers and partners attended the GE Aviation Waypoint conference last week in Dallas, Texas, focused on digital transformation in the aviation industry.
"Waypoint was a tremendous opportunity to bring together airlines and operators across the entire aviation industry," said John Mansfield, chief digital officer for GE Aviation. "While GE hosts the event, it's more focused on aviation, what's possible in the digital space and how so many airlines are using data and analytics to improve aviation for their operations and for air travel."
Participants included customers from airlines, military, maintenance, manufacturers, lessors and business and general aviation. Customers partnered with the GE team to share more than 60 sessions focused on technologies in asset performance management, data governance, digital disruption and transformation, digital MRO, flight analytics, flight safety, fuel management, network management, operations management and records management.
A highlight during the event was a keynote by "Miracle on the Hudson" hero Captain "Sully" Sullenberger. His heroic act of an emergency landing onto the Hudson River in 2009 was the product of a lifetime spent in the pursuit of aviation safety.
"Captain Sullenberger's keynote was the perfect example of the emphasis and importance we all place on aviation safety and expertise," commented Andrew Coleman, chief commercial officer for GE Aviation. "Waypoint provides a forum for our aviation community to share best practices and learn from one another. Problem-solving and collaboration with customers provides valuable insights about their specific priorities and requirements."
"This was our week to show our customers how much they mean to us and how much they inspire us to perform at our best each and every day," continued Coleman. "Our team really appreciates the opportunity to partner with the greatest thinking in aviation toward problem-solving and advancing our industry. We are on to something profound and special, with a great deal of room to grow and further innovate."
GE Aviation announced a partnership with CEFA Aviation at Waypoint to provide customers with a higher fidelity of data for airline flight safety analysis, operational efficiency and pilot training. The partnership combines GE's experience in flight analytics with CEFA Aviation's expertise in flight data animation.
The tech hall during Waypoint showcased technologies from Teradata, Tableau, PASSUR Aerospace, CEFA Aviation, HP Enterprise, MapLarge, A-ISAC and Gadget Software. GE and their customers collaborated to bring digital demos throughout the tech hall including several technologies such as intelligent network operations, the FlightPulse pilot app, engine diagnostics and professional services.
About GE Aviation
GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of commercial and military jet engines, and avionics, digital solutions and electrical power systems for aircraft. GE is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. Learn more at geaviation.com/digital, twitter @GEAviation, #GEwaypoint
