SEATTLE, Wash. – “Harness the Power of Big Data” proclaimed the signs throughout the InterContinental Berlin. Close to 500 attendees from leading airlines, air travel and trade experts the world over came to Germany’s capital for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Aviation Data Symposium, June 19-20. Everyone wants to know how to leverage the vast amount of data generated on an aircraft. APiJET believes it has a key solution. A demonstration proved its point.
APiJET offered a case study in improving operational efficiency at a luncheon on day two of the symposium. APiJET Chief Executive Officer John Schramm and Chief Commercial Officer Tom Gibbons spoke about their new software-based data service, a joint venture between Aviation Partners and iJet Technologies. They put it to the test by conducting a live demonstration, showcasing launch customer Icelandair. It has fully deployed APiJET’s data service across its full fleet of Boeing 757-200s, 757-300s and 767-300ERs. It will be on the airline’s new 737 MAX when it enters service this year.
“It’s not a coincidence that Icelandair is our first full-fleet customer or the partner for our first live demo,” Schramm says. “Icelandair’s flattened hierarchy and 30-aircraft fleet enable it to act swiftly. It’s an innovator ready to embrace positive change.”
Putting Transformation to the Test
Schramm and Gibbons used an Icelandair aircraft on the ramp at SeaTac (SEA) Seattle, Washington in the United States to show how their service creates Smart Aircraft™ that support smart operations in real-time, anywhere in the world. For example, while airlines have ample aircraft data and an organizational commitment to process improvement, basic problems recur too often causing unnecessary cost and delay. These include common issues such as auxiliary power units (APUs) that continue to run needlessly, or an inability to get information about required consumable such as low-crew O2 prior to preflight.
For the demonstration, attendees were able to log into a publicly available URL to see APiJET’s telematics app. On their individual devices they could then watch engine and APU starts and running as well as alerts appear for items like low-crew O2. They could also witness an APU runtime alert. They also watched an exhaust gas temperature (EGT) exceedance alert, which in real life could then result in immediate action. A review and discussion of these and other examples elicited robust audience participation.
How the APiJET Smart Aircraft™ System Works
Proprietary APiJET business-logic modules called Actors™ analyze real-time data on the aircraft and convert it into critical information that people can act on in real time. Actors apply logic to know when and how to deliver data from the aircraft to applications that alert the right people as needed across operations: ground, flight, maintenance, administration and even finance. Actors create a configurable feedback loop between ground analytics and the aircraft. Data transforms into insight and, using APiJET or third-party applications, is presented to the people who need it.
An Analytics Provider Positioned to Serve
APiJET’s open-architecture platform runs on a variety of on-aircraft server hardware, ingests data in multiple formats, runs APiJET Actor analytics and accesses any available IP communication link. The offboard data platform aggregates aircraft data, connects to ground-based applications and analytics via standard APIs, and integrates with corporate backend systems. This data and application open platform positions APiJET for maximum responsiveness to airlines when third-party partners present solutions ripe for integration any airline requires.
“APiJET is different than anything else seen at this conference,” says Gibbons. “We started with airlines’ key operational challenges and recurring issues then worked backward to the technology solution. That led us to an open-architecture model that works with real-time data to integrate the aircraft into all operations to drive efficiency and savings on every flight, every day.”
To learn more, visit: www.APiJET.com.
