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More efficiency in airline staff travel management
myIDTravel - The integrated IT solution for ID travel from Lufthansa Systems
Since June 2008, passengers are flying exclusively with electronic tickets. The decision to fully replace paper tickets in the airline industry was made back in 2004 as part of IATA’s "Simplifying the Business" initiative. So far this is reality for all full fare passengers. But for business and private trips of airline employees most airlines are still using paper tickets especially on third-party flights in order to ensure correct accounting processes. The integrated IT solution myIDTravel from Lufthansa Systems eases the introduction of electronic tickets for ID travellers. The solution's high degree of automation and self-service functionality enable airlines to optimize the processing of employee travel, thereby reducing costs considerably.
myIDTravel can be integrated into the system environment of any airline and covers the large number of bilateral agreements between airlines. Based on the requirements of ZED/MIBA (Zonal Employee Discount/ Multilateral Interline Business Travel Agreement), myIDTravel is an integrated solution for efficient ID travel management of business and private trips. Airline staff can conveniently book and settle flights electronically also on other carriers by using a central system, which they can access through their company's intranet or an Internet portal. myIDTravel especially simplifies multi-leg trips since employees can execute all steps of the booking process in one system. They can check the availability of flights on participating airlines and create, edit and cancel bookings or listings at any time.
For this purpose, myIDTravel accesses the airlines' reservation systems (GDS), automatically taking into account individual ID agreements. myIDTravel processes every booking segment in the GDS of the airline operating the particular flight or leg. This eliminates the need to subsequently bill interline flights between the airline issuing the ticket and the one operating the flight, which reduces cost and effort considerably.
Using cutting-edge server-oriented architecture (SOA) technologies, myIDTravel is a highly flexible solution that is optimally prepared to meet the diverse requirements of different airlines. Special attention was paid to the issue of security. myIDTravel and the participating airlines exchange data exclusively through technologies that meet the latest security requirements, such as Webservice Policy and Webservice Security.
The first airlines will be using the myIDTravel service before the end of this year. A total of 21 carriers have already opted for the integrated ID travel management solution from Lufthansa Systems, and the customer base is continually growing.
High quality obstacle data from Lufthansa Systems
At first sight it seems that the heights of buildings and trees are not relevant data for an airline given cruising altitudes over 10 km. But in the vicinity of airports data on obstacles such as hills, trees, church towers, bridges or cranes are essential information in order to operate a flight efficiently. For example, obstacle data must be considered when calculating take-off data (take-off speed and the necessary thrust). The Obstacle Database of Lufthansa Systems contains up-to-date data on permanent and temporary obstacles at around 1,600 airports.
Furthermore, to ensure that the runway is actually suitable for a particular type of aircraft, not only the length of the runway but the topography of an airport’s surroundings has to be taken into consideration. Obstacle data are also used for determining EOSIDs (Engine Out Standard Instrument Departure routes). EOSIDs are emergency flight paths that have to be available to pilots for each flight. If an engine fails during take-off, for example, and the aircraft must continue flying with a reduced rate of climb, EOSIDs ensure that a plane can keep a safe flight path with less thrust.
If an airport, for which no terrain-related information or take-off and approach data is available, is added to the Obstacle Database, Lufthansa Systems determines suitable take-off, approach and emergency routes based on comprehensive chart material. Obstacles existing within a defined cone-shaped area behind the runway are identified and stored in a special obstacle database for calculating take-off and landing procedures and weights. The aeronautical data experts of Lufthansa Systems analyze a variety of different sources in order to identify obstacles near airports, such as official government maps, entries in AIPs (Aeronautical Information Publications), navigation charts and other applicable sources.
The experts also continually enter all NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) into the database. NOTAMS are published by aviation authorities worldwide and play a role in determining the suitability of runways or emergency routes. As a result, customers can always access the Obstacle Database that contains up-to-date information. Whenever there will be a new obstacle close to a runway at one of the 1,600 airports stored in the database, customers can rest assured that this obstacle will be included in the Obstacle Database of Lufthansa Systems.
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