SriLankan into electronic flying with iPad
SriLankan Airlines’ enters the new age of ‘iPad electronic flying’ by
switching from using bulky mandatory paper manuals, to a sleek 662 gram
iPad, as SriLankan becomes Asia’s first airline to use the iPad
Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) starting August, 29 2012.
Pilots no longer need to lug 84 kilograms of paper manuals from
aircraft to aircraft and from airport to airport and flip through pages,
when the process is now streamlined to easy electronic searching. UL 205
bound for Muscat is the first flight to be operated utilising iPad Class
1 EFBs which are Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) that store all the
information that are generally available in several paper manuals,
physically carried by pilots for reference. The iPad EFB is an
information management device displaying data intended primarily for
flight-deck or cabin use. ‘SriLankan has taken the lead in Asia to
revolutionise the flight deck, realising the vision of paperless flying
and becoming Asia’s first airline to fly with iPad EFBs,’ said
SriLankan’s Chairman, Nishantha Wickremasinghe.
“SriLankan will be the first customer airline to commence ‘digital
flying’ using the Fokker iPAD CLASS 2 installation, on the Airbus A340,
A330 and A320. Effectively, the process will make flying that much
easier, more efficient, accurate and greatly help the airline’s bottom
line, as millions of rupees will be saved,” said SriLankan’s Chief
Executive Officer, Kapila Chandrasena. iPad EFB usage will also result
in reduced weight on board and paper clutter in the cockpit; reduce fuel
usage due to more accurate takeoff & landing, weight & balance
calculations; improved safety with on-board performance calculations;
ability to increase payload with ‘real time’ performance calculations;
improved route decisions; and in the whole process, save aircraft engine
lifetime. Paul-Franck BIJOU, Quovadis CEO, saId: ‘We are glad to be part
of this initiative and to support SriLankan Airlines in moving to
paperless operations. By choosing to implement both PBN and iPAD
operations in 2012, SriLankan Airlines clearly shows its culture of
continuous innovation.’
‘Implementing an EFB also requires the definition of new roles and
processes to ensure a safe transition from paper to electronic data.
Already selected by SriLankan Airlines to train its flight crews and
dispatchers on Performance Based Navigation, Quovadis will support
SriLankan Airlines in implementing the best practices, managing its
documentation in electronic format and developing its operational
approval package’ ensures Quovadis. By end October 2012, the entire
technical flight crew of approximately 300 pilots will be using the iPad
EFBs in the all Airbus fleet of A340s, A330s and A320 aircraft. ‘Fokker
Services is very proud to have such a well-known and professional
airline as SriLankan as the launch customer for our EFB solution in the
Asia Pacific, and also for the complete Airbus narrow-body and wide-body
family of aircraft,’ said Raj Ramanujam, VP Marketing & Sales, Asia
Pacific at Fokker Services. ‘We strongly believe that this is the wave
of the future and that our solution provides a cost-effective and
flexible way of implementing the advantages of an EFB in any fleet. We
look forward to working together with SriLankan on this exciting
project.’
The ‘green’ benefits of using iPad EFBs are also immense as there
will be a drastic reduction in the use of thousands of sheets of paper
and printing. iPad EFB usage will save approximately 264,000 gallons of
jet fuel per annum and in turn reduce tons of emissions.
SriLankan has become Asia’s first to get regulatory authorization
from Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) for the use of the
EFB and has opted for the EFB solution for iPad from Fokker Services in
the Airbus A320’s, A330’s and A340’s and progressively introduce Airbus
FlySmart Software to calculate aircraft performance and to refer all
manuals. SriLankan will also use the JeppesonFliteDeck Pro to refer
charts. “We extend our warm congratulations to our valued customer
SriLankan Airlines for obtaining authorization to use their iPad EFB
solution in operations,” said Thomas Wede, Jeppesen Senior Vice
President and General Manager, Aviation. “JeppesenFliteDeck Pro on iPad
will provide increased situational awareness and reduced workload for
SriLankan pilots, and will improve overall operational efficiency at the
airline.
We are impressed with their EFB leadership in the dynamic Asian
market.” The aircraft maintenance Log-book which is arguably the most
important document of the aircraft, is transferred into the versatile
iPad, touch-screen device - a breakthrough for futuristic airlines, and
this too will be incorporated soon into SriLankan’s foray into iPad
assisted navigation. The Log-book brings flight operations and
maintenance work together, which can be electronically transmitted in
‘real time’ while the aircraft is still air borne. Maintenance can then
correlate the entry and have the necessary support ready in double-quick
time.
The versatility of the iPad will also allow to introduce many more
features directly related to passengers in the future. “Although a
medium sized airline, we are pioneering a next generation pilots’ dream,
achieving a milestone in the airline’s history. The iPad EFB usage will
enhance operational efficiencies and greatly contribute to providing an
efficient, seamless service to passengers’ said SriLankan’s Head of
Flight Operations, Captain Navin De Silva.
The use of the iPad EFB drastically reduces job-related, error-prone
paperwork. With the advancement of technology and newly certified
products, visionary and futuristic airlines are realising the value of a
paperless ‘cockpit’. Installation of an iPad EFB gives SriLankan a first
step into the future of Crew Information Services. The vendor will
eventually offer content, applications and services that connect all the
data generated by an entire flight operation -- in the air, on the
ground and in the hangar -- and make it meaningful to all users: pilots,
mechanics, flight attendants, operations departments, airport users and
other potential customers.
|