Inflight Monitor helps dispatchers planning for the unforeseen
Airlines are operating in a very dynamic environment. Many things can change from the moment a flight plan for a long haul flight has been filed- usually four hours before take-off - until the airplane arrives at its destination. Adverse weather conditions or airspace and airport closings can necessitate changes to even the most careful planning. Lufthansa Systems’ new Inflight Monitor automatically keeps track of all changes and supports the dispatcher in making the optimum decision swiftly.
A module of Lufthansa Systems’ tried and tested Lido OC (Lido Operations Center) flight planning solution, the Inflight Monitor helps dispatchers monitor flights seamlessly from departure right until landing.
As soon as a flight plan has been optimized with Lido OC and submitted to the international aviation authorities, the Inflight Monitor functionality goes to work. It automatically monitors every flight which has been calculated but not yet completed. These flights are checked against all updated airspace restrictions and airport and weather data which are uploaded to our comprehensive flight planning database. When the Inflight Monitor detects that a new notification will affect one of the flights, it uses color-coding to determine how the flight plan will change and then informs the dispatcher via a pop-up window if necessary.
The tool also suggests alternative routes to guarantee the safety and on-time arrival of the flight. Dispatchers can view these alternatives in graphic form with Lido AeroView. This helps them compare the proposed routes and make a decision. This is particularly useful if the flight has already taken off, since AeroView displays the current aircraft position along with the planned route. Dispatchers can contact pilots during a flight via the Datalink connection. This allows them to keep the cockpit crew informed of current flight plan changes and even include them in the decision-making process.
Alitalia and Singapore Airlines are among the first carriers to use the Inflight Monitor in addition to Lido OC. It is another example how Lufthansa Systems continues to develop its solutions according to the customers’ needs.
Modern mathematic methods for optimal crew deployment
In a business as complex as the airline industry, economic success depends on optimizing business processes with regard to costs and resource use. For more than ten years, Lufthansa Systems has been making a name for itself with solutions in this field. Using the latest mathematic and computer science methods, these powerful tools help airlines optimize the deployment of their fleets, as well as the deployment of pilots and cabin crews.
The latest product in this field is NetLine/Crew Pairing xOPT, which facilitates crew planning for airlines of all sizes and business models. The primary task of a crew planner is to create the most cost-efficient rotation plans possible for pilots and flight attendants. This task is complicated by the fact that a crew member's place of residence doesn't always coincide with the requirements of the flight plan. For example, it may be that 70 percent of all rotations start in Frankfurt, but only 40 percent of the crew members actually live there. This usually leads to considerable additional expenses in the form of overnight costs, transportation costs and lost working days.
Unlike conventional crew management systems, the optimizer can generate deployment plans which keep these expenses down. Another complication is that cockpit and cabin crews may not be evenly distributed across all stations - that is, 40 percent of the pilots may live in Frankfurt, but only 20 percent of the flight attendants. The latest generation of optimizers from Lufthansa Systems can handle this problem as well.
The optimizer was developed in cooperation with the Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik in Berlin, one of the world's leading research institutes in the field of applied mathematics and computer science. NetLine/Crew Pairing xOPT is the first product of its type, and it is already achieving outstanding results for German leisure airline Condor.
Using the same technology, Lufthansa Systems is currently developing an innovative IT tool for optimizing crew rosters. This solution will further strengthen Lufthansa Systems' leading position in this field.
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