Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

FL3XX is rolling out a new chat function for users of its Crew App that it says will improve communications among staff responsible for different aspects of flight operations. The Europe-based aviation management platform developer unveiled the new feature on Tuesday and is at the NBAA-BACE show demonstrating how the feature provides instant, secure messaging between sales, dispatch, and flight crew teams.
According to FL3XX, the chat function is similar in format to the popular Slack and Teams apps used by multiple businesses for internal communications. The company said that by reducing reliance on multiple external apps or channels, the new feature ensures that flight planning data, crew roster changes, and passenger needs are all connected to one flight record.
At the show in Las Vegas this week, FL3XX is also demonstrating three additional features powered by artificial intelligence. These include the AI Invoice Scanner, which avoids the need for manual data entry; Quote AI, which converts customer email requests into ready-to-send charter flight quotes; and Bright AI, which uses QuickSight/Amazon Q to produce graphs from raw information.
According to <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-03-17/fl3xx-presses-case-automating-charter-operations">FL3XX</a>&nbsp;(pronounced Flex), business aviation companies struggle to achieve operational efficiency in part due to fragmented communications. It claims that the chat-style interface in Crew App overcomes these challenges by supporting secure, flight-linked conversations directly into operators’ workflows.
“FL3XX Chat takes what operators already value about FL3XX—having workflows in one place, from scheduling and dispatch to maintenance and finance—and extends it to communication,” said Stefan Oberender, the Austria-based company’s co-founder and CEO. “It brings multiple departments together in a single channel, even when teams are spread across different locations or airports. For flight and ground teams, this means clarity and speed, with issues resolved in real time, updates tied to the right flight, and less risk of information being lost between tools.”
Multiple technology companies are now tapping AI to increase automation in frontline business aviation tasks. In addition to FL3XX,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-05-07/ai-tools-promise-efficiency-leap-business-aviation">these include</a> document management specialist WebManuals and charter quote generator MySky, as well as maintenance group <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-10-10/aero-star-aviation-introduces-ai-maintenance-assistant">Aero Star Aviation</a>.

Chat Function Rolled Out to Streamline Business Aviation Communications

FL3XX’s Crew App now features Slack-style chat function

FL3XX says the chat function for its Crew App will avoid disconnects between functions within business aircraft operations by keeping flight data in one place.

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