SITAONAIR’s EFB Weather Awareness Solution (eWAS) is the latest application certified by Inmarsat for use across its next-generation SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) communications platform for the flight deck, allowing airlines to now receive the latest weather view in real-time during flights.
Following its certification under Inmarsat’s Aviation Certified Application Provider (CAP) Programme, eWAS users will now be able to seamlessly utilize SITAONAIR’s technology for pilots using real-time SB-S datalink connectivity.
The pilot weather solution offers up-to-date views of severe weather, which can then enable a smoother, more efficient inflight experience for passengers and crew – and avoid related cost implications that were once deemed unavoidable. Severe turbulence, lightning, ice crystallization and other volatile weather phenomena can significantly impact an airline’s bottom line, with a single weather event sometimes costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, in addition to negatively impacting on-time performance targets. Such weather phenomena can rapidly appear, shift location, and grow in intensity, posing an increasing problem for airlines that traditional weather briefing packages cannot deal with.
According to a recent study published by the London School of Economics, optimising flight routes in real time, through IP-enabled communications that provide better weather information to the cockpit, yields an estimated 1% fuel reduction per flight. This equates to 3.39 billion litres of fuel, 8.3 million tonnes of CO2 and $1.3 billion in fuel savings annually, based on current fuel costs.
SB-S entered commercial service in April this year. Utilising aviation applications, SB-S can improve delay management and scheduling, maintenance capability, fleet and flight crew management, efficiency and predictability, and can reduce aircraft turnaround time. In the future, through its use with modernisation programmes such as the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR), it will enable enhanced air traffic management, allowing reduced separation standards and enabling dynamic rerouting and tailored arrivals.
