ARINC Direct revealed an enhancement to its portfolio of flight planning services for business aircraft operating in the U.S. and Europe. The company has developed a system to advise operators…
ARINC Direct revealed an enhancement to its portfolio of flight planning services for business aircraft operating in the U.S. and Europe. The company has developed a system to advise operators immediately when the FAA or Eurocontrol issues a notice delaying their planned departure time.
Air Traffic Control often issues delay notices hours before planned departure times, usually in case of adverse weather or anticipated traffic congestion enroute or at destination airports. Called Expected Departure Clearance Times (EDCT) in the USA, and Calculated Take-Off Times (CTOT) in Europe, these delays are often unknown to aircraft operators until just before they expect to depart. ARINC’s delay notification service will keep operators informed of such delays in ways never before possible—in many cases well before they board their aircraft.
“Our delay notification service is not available from any other business aviation provider,” stated Steve Corfman, ARINC Direct Manager of Flight Planning. “It gives ARINC Direct customers unprecedented access to the delay information they need for better planning and execution of flights. It benefits both crews and passengers, and can keep flight departments automatically notified no matter where they are located.”
Phase One of the new EDCT/CTOT notification service will be introduced in June, in time for the U.S. summer thunderstorm season. ARINC Direct operators will be able to track their Departure Clearance Times by logging onto the ARINC Direct web site. Any delay information will be updated and integrated with the flight plan information already available, giving the customer a complete picture of the flight’s status. Phase Two, in late summer, will add automatic notification. Operators will receive automated alerts via their choice of e-mail, PDA, fax or cell phone—even by datalink messages right to the aircraft—whenever delays affect their planned departure times.
ARINC Direct has access to USA delay data by partnership in the FAA’s Collaborative Decision Making process. It monitors the FAA Enhanced Traffic Management System and extracts data relevant to ARINC customer aircraft. The partnership can also earn ARINC customers better clearance times when their departures are rescheduled.
ARINC Direct has experienced strong growth in Europe since launching service at EBACE 2006. By adding many of Europe’s private and VIP Charter operators to its established North American customer base, it now provides flight support services to more than 1500 aircraft. ARINC Direct has uniquely integrated key components required for successful operations in business aviation: cabin and cockpit communications, flight planning, weather and NOTAMS, runway analysis, and flight tracking.
“We launched ARINC Direct with the intention of providing the best value services in the business aviation market,” said Bob Richard, Senior Director, ARINC Direct, “and we have achieved this by listening to our customers and responding to their needs. It is one more reason ARINC Direct is regarded as an essential partner of business aviation.”
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