Evidence that Jeppesen is moving rapidly toward a world cluttered with less paper can be seen in airline terminals all over the world. Many airline pilots have been freed of the burden of dragging around their own bulging chart cases full of approach plates and en route charts and regulations, thanks to Jeppesen’s Airside service, which facilitates the delivery of charts to aircraft instead of to pilots. At the other extreme are pilots who are not using paper approach plates at all, but pulling up Jepp charts on electronic devices in cockpits, from electronic flight bags (EFBs) and now to Apple iPads, which the U.S. FAA has approved for in-flight duty.
While Jeppesen hopes eventually to eliminate printing of paper documents, most airlines still use paper, and the transition to electronic charts will take longer. Hence, said Rick Ellerbrock, Jeppesen’s chief strategist for aviation, Airside Services remains “part of the paper-to-less-paper-to-electronic transformation.”
