Hot Topics

Ready for Take-off and on time with Performance Services

A great deal of information is required to conduct a flight as efficiently and safely as possible. Take-off is a particularly critical moment during the flight. Just before the airplane is off-blocks, a number of decisions have to be made regarding the exact take-off speed, the thrust and the runway. The cockpit crew must also know which flight path they could take in the event of an engine-out during take-off. These figures depend on the final weight of the aircraft, the weather, temperature and the atmospheric pressure.

The aircraft performance solutions from Lufthansa Systems help cockpit crews and pilots make these decisions. The solutions provide airport obstacle data as well as EOSID (Engine Out Standard Instrument Departure) data. They contain all airport data required for take-off and ensure the cockpit can count on up-to-date information.

The final take-off weight, the atmospheric pressure, temperature, the wind speed, the runway surface and other parameters all determine the length that is necessary for take-off. Depending on the take-off speed, a shorter section of runway can be used and less taxi time is necessary. And in order to avoid having to unload cargo at the last minute if the maximum take-off weight is exceeded, the first forecast for the maximum payload for the actual conditions is calculated before the ramp agent begins loading the aircraft. Another benefit of the Lido Take-off Performance Analysis is the reduction of engine thrust to increase the engine life cycle and decrease maintenance cost.

The airline itself determines whether pilots should make these calculations manually with the help of Runway Weight Charts or whether they should receive electronic support from Lido Take-off Performance Analysis (Lido Topas). Lido Topas calculates all relevant take-off and landing data on the spot. These programs are ideal for on-board use on a laptop or any EFB (Electronic Flight Bag). The procedures are analyzed to optimize payloads and safety while taking obstacles and engine/airframe considerations into account as well.

Gaining extra revenue with ticket audits

For each flight there are many different prices available, depending on booking class, day, time, travel rules and on different taxes for individual authorities and airports. Deciding which price is best for which destination is one of the pillars that airline revenue rests on. On the other hand, due to the growing price competition in the airline market, it has become increasingly important to reduce the loss of revenue caused by incorrectly issued tickets or misused fares. Although the process of issuing airline tickets is highly automated there is still room for manipulation and fraud.

After a travel agent has sold a fare or a specific combination of fares to the customer and issued the ticket, a data set is produced and send to the Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) or Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC) in the United States of America. Both central organizations collect all ticket sales from all travel agencies and provide the information to the airline it belongs to. In addition, the BSP/ARC is taking the responsibility to settle the payment between travel agencies and airline and sometimes also including credit card companies for those tickets paid by credit card.

Lufthansa Systems is offering SiraxProfit, which complements the revenue accounting solution Sirax, to provide the airline with all necessary functionalities for Revenue Recovery and Revenue Protection. Sirax handles all aspects of the billing process in detail. Thanks to the software's high degree of automation, airlines can significantly reduce the amount of effort they put into revenue accounting.

It is in the airline’s own interest to audit the actual ticket sales reported by the BSP/ARC in order to reduce the loss of revenue. Four different sales audit functions that are automatically processed during BSP/ARC ticket sales data load: fare, tax and commission audit as well as credit card payment control. Instead of just taking samples, recalculating the exact amounts and level of taxes for the complete itinerary is much more efficient. Comparing those with the taxes reported is another valuable source for gaining extra revenue. The same can be done for commission audit and credit card payments.