World Fuel Services (WFS) has launched a new integrated flight-planning application for the iPad. One of the largest applications created by IBM, it was developed over the past year with input from various service providers such as IBM's The Weather Company, Seattle Avionics, Aircraft Performance Group (APG), NavBlue, Mapbox, SkyVector, PDFTron and AVfinity. The web portal recently went live after alpha-testing with a group of test customers, and WFS will be demonstrating it here at the show at its booth (C9412).
The iOS app will include many features such as profile weather mapping and a journey log. A feature known as itinerary planner allows the user to enter the start and destination of a route, along with any limitations such as fuel burn, time in the air or distance, and the system will then generate a direct route based on the aircraft performance as if it could make the trip nonstop, and will display the limiting thresholds on the map, allowing the user to identify likely tech stops. Once the user selects an airport, the system will then generate a new route from the start to the tech stop. It will cover the full span of the trip, including a disconnected mode for cockpit usage. Each leg can be downloaded to the EFB.
For WFS customers, the app will provide free access to full planning information for each airport, such as active Notams, handlers, slot requirements and approach charts. Also on tap is country regulatory information for visas and landing permits.
Clients can also request fuel quotes through the integrated app, create their own flight plan through file-and-go functionality or request flight-planning services.
Consolidated Information
“We have been serving the business aviation industry for a long time, and we saw a gap in the current solutions for global flight departments,” said Jeff Briand, the company’s vice president of global trip support. “For some trips, customers want to do it themselves, but they have to traverse numerous sites and are concerned about having no backup.” He added that fully managed trips lack flexibility and transparency. “Flight departments want something that blends self-service and full-service options in to a single option, unifies the different applications and everyone can see what is going on, not just pilots.”
Each user can develop his or her own profile, which will store the customized information for each aircraft in the fleet, simplifying tasks such as APG's runway analysis and weight-and-balance calculations.
Another feature stems from the input of The Weather Company. The app uses the same data the weather information provider offers on its own website, allowing customers to check weather en route or at their destination. “There’s a section inside of the weather creation process that allows the user to take a satellite view and overlay weather and winds [to] customize views of weather anywhere along the route,” said Briand. “It’s a unique feature to this app.”
Both the airport data and weather functions can be accessed outside of the flight-planning function.
Briand noted the primary target for the application is customers making international trips, who may find themselves having to switch from one application to another depending on where they are currently operating. “There’s no need for them to switch apps because they get exactly the same functionality in the domestic and international environments in this one app,” he told AIN, adding the cost structure is similar to that of other trip-support programs currently on the market. “We’re unifying all of our applications, so there’s going to be a single environment that everybody can go to.”
Another feature in the application is a newsfeed, which will also highlight items of interest based on the destinations of users’ existing flight plans.
