www.arinc.com/emea

80 Years on and Still Blazing a Trail
ARINC

With safety, security and efficiency heading the list of priorities for airport and airline operators, the latest product development news from air travel technology pioneers ARINC is always greeted with great interest by those working within the aviation industry. The numerous challenges facing 21st-century airport and airline operators, in their continuous quest to maximise operational efficiency without compromising safety and security, can only be met effectively with the aid of reliable and versatile technology.

And, as passenger numbers increase, as security demands become more stringent and operating costs rise, it is vital that technology keeps pace with the ever-more-complex requirements of the aviation sector. ARINC goes a step further - with 80 years’ experience of developing innovative products and services for this sector, among others, the company prides itself on keeping one step ahead, leading the way in helping to shape the future of the airport industry.

ARINC is involved in just about every aspect of airport operations, delivering innovative solutions that help ease congestion, and keep passengers and baggage flowing. Indeed, with an installed base of over 30,000 airport systems, ARINC is a major partner to the world’s airports, working in sync with IATA and ACI initiatives. Having been closely involved in supporting airport operations for many decades, liaising with government agencies, independent facility operators, carriers, and a host of strategic partners to deliver proven, reliable, and flexible solutions, ARINC can justly claim to be the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. Over 325 airlines and 350 million passengers a year use ARINC systems integration, communications and IT capabilities at 160 locations worldwide, with around 10,000 commercial aircraft taking off and landing each day with help from ARINC.

It’s with this unrivalled pedigree that ARINC, as well as enhancing current products, regularly introduces new systems - at any one time, engineers will be working on up to 60 innovations.

Next-generation passenger check-in Technology

Ever-conscious of the requirement to reduce queues and keep passengers moving smoothly, ARINC has developed a range of processing solutions that are not only efficient and economical space-savers, but also easily adapted to meet the evolving needs of airport operations.

Multiple airlines to share the same computer systems at airport check-in desks and boarding gates, have become increasingly popular, and ARINC has been instrumental in driving the development of CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing Systems), working with the international IATA/ATA/ACI CUPPS team to develop the technical specification published in 2008.

In January 2009, Las Vegas McCarran Airport was the first live test of this next generation of passenger check-in technology. This international standard will result in significant cost savings and increased efficiency for airports and airlines, since, for the first time, software developers at all airlines will have a universal standard that is sufficiently detailed to eliminate the variations that previously hindered inter-airline communication.

CUPPS makes airline check-in applications fully portable, offering savings for airports and airlines in continuing development and support costs.

CUTE, the previous generation of common-use check-in systems, lacked the built-in technical specifications in CUPPS that ensure inter-operability and portability of applications now ensured by CUPPS. ARINC’s industry-leading vMUSETM check-in system is now being enhanced to simultaneously run legacy CUTE applications, and the newer CUPPS as well as airlines’ applications.

Through virtualising peripheral components like printers, hardware, readers, and other operating systems, technology costs can be significantly cut. The elimination of custom printers and costly paper products for boarding passes alone can reduce costs by as much as 25 per cent.

Flexible, secure check-in solutions

With a 75 per cent market share of Common User Systems (CUSS) kiosks at airports around the world, ARINC has unequalled expertise in flexible check-in solutions which support IATA’s STB (Simplifying the Business) and FastTravel initiatives.

These solutions include self-checkin kiosks and portable check-in devices used by roving airline agents. With more and more passengers seeking alternative check-in options, ARINC has also become a global leader in common-use kiosks in railway stations and car rental offices. These not only enable passengers to save valuable time and avoid long queues, but also allow operators to divert traffic from highly-congested areas, and provide airlines with crucial cost-sharing opportunities. The company’s Multi-User System Environment (MUSE) family of passenger and flight information systems already supports more than 300 airlines at over 100 airports worldwide.

These systems enhance security by allowing airlines to share vital passenger and baggage information in real time on high-speed multi-user networks. Whether from off-site locations, common-use kiosks or traditional check-in desks, airlines can access the information they need when they need it, while maintaining passenger privacy.

There are solutions for all situations. vMUSE Express, for example, is a compact, easy-to-set up system that allows agents to check-in passengers, print boarding passes, and check baggage from almost anywhere with an internet connection - popular at rental car facilities, transit stations and convention centres. OnVoy is a check-in system used by cruise ships and hotels. OnVoy, which has become the industry standard, is currently in use on over 70 ships. All passengers have to do is sign up - attendants deliver printed bag tags, and pick up the bags the night before departure to be held in a secure off-site location. The system has also been implemented throughout Walt Disney World Resort Hotels.

Enhanced baggage tracking brings tighter security

Baggage presents another potential congestion and security issue, but ARINC has the solution in its integrated BagMatch and BagLink systems. These keep track of every movement of every bag and container in the system - within the airport, and in the aircraft hold, thus preventing misdirected baggage and potential delays, tightening security, and cutting the costs of manual procedures.

Using barcode technology, computer-generated tags, and RFiD (radio frequency identification) tracking, BagMatch links to departure control, flight information displays, weight and balance applications, and other systems within the airport infrastructure. It also confirms whether or not a piece of luggage can be positively matched to a verified, boarded passenger before it is loaded on to a departing aircraft.

Baggage handlers know the exact location of every bag - down to its position within the container on board the aircraft. Should a bag need to be removed from the aircraft before departure, it can be found quickly and identified with 100 per cent accuracy, using wireless scanners connected to the centralised database.

BagLink enables baggage to be sorted and routed remotely, saving time, decreasing costs and minimising errors. Its modern design means it can be managed remotely and in real time, speeding baggage handling at destination airports. The sophisticated communications server collects baggage-routing messages from multiple airline hosts, and distributes these to airport systems for further processing.

Regardless of which baggage reconciliation system is in use, BagLink provides the interface between any connected host system, and the airport’s baggage sorting system and baggage reconciliation system.

Advanced passenger reconciliation System

Another ARINC innovation for 2009 is VeriPax, a passenger reconciliation system designed to validate the authenticity of the barcodes on tickets, as well as establishing links between the document reader and the airline. The system can also be used to track passenger movement after check-in, for example, determining whether they have enough time to clear security check-in to make their flight on time.

VeriPax complements ARINC’s Identity Management System (IdMS) which uses biographical and biometric information to help create fast-lanes for pre-registered passengers, and invaluable checks on employees and crew members.

Passenger movements are tracked, and travellers automatically identified, through biometric techniques at existing security systems. In addition, advanced passenger information, such as passport data, can be entered automatically using document readers.

By linking to ‘watch lists’ VeriPax also provides a comprehensive solution for government agencies responsible for border control, hazardous material management, and for securing other high-risk facilities.

Sophisticated system for optimising terminal operations

Optimising the use of all terminal operations, from aircraft to baggage carousels, relies on maximising scheduling and easing congestion. ARINC’s highly flexible resource management system, AirPlan, also reduces costs.

Airport managers can use this intelligent control system to analyse the cause of delays, plan ahead, and improve scheduling by determining the most time-efficient use of aircraft, gates, and stands. And because ARINC works on site to create a customised system, the architecture can be scaled to any size airport, taking into account carrier preferences, and higher traffic situations, such as peak travel times. A high degree of flexibility means that individual parts of the system can be activated as required.

By continuously tracking aircraft, gate, and concourse availability, AirPlan automatically schedules gate facilities in near real time. This gives airport personnel a head start in assigning departure and arrival gates and baggage carousels, minimising the time aircraft spend on the runway burning fuel - and the time passengers spend on the ground losing patience!

Automating turnaround activity saves valuable time

ARINC’s Ramp Management Tool, another recent innovation from ARINC, is designed to fully automate the co-ordination of turnaround activities, eliminating potential delays between elements of the schedule. This is particularly beneficial in an era when some airlines work to a tight turnaround time of just 25 minutes. The entire turnaround sequence is logged on the ARINC’s Ramp Management Tool system, with the manager notified by PDA (palmtop computer) of activities that need to be carried out. An automatic alert is triggered in the event of any failure or delay.

ARINC’s Ramp Management Tool also makes redundant the laborious form-filling that previously marked the completion of turnaround activities, since the collation of all data is prepared automatically in the form of an auditable, verifiable list - an important benefit for handling agents. This is just a sample of the dozens of products and services ARINC has developed to improve operations at airports, complementing the hundreds of ARINC products in use on the world’s airlines.

What of the future? With passenger terminal space at a premium, and constant pressure to reduce costs, remote and mobile check-in facilities are certain to increase, RFiD technology will supersede magnetic stripe boarding passes and tags, and selftagging will spread as part of a much wider acceptance of self-service applications. The self-tagging of baggage pioneered by Air Canada is speeding up the travel process and becoming increasingly popular. Montreal Airport Dorval has more than 70 self-service kiosks dispensing bag tags, and the system is now being trialled at London Heathrow.

As it celebrates 80 years at the cutting edge of aviation technology, ARINC - the company that pioneered air-to-ground communications in 1934 - will carry on designing systems that attain the highest levels of operational efficiency and reliability. And whether engineering an entire infrastructure or incorporating legacy equipment into a new architecture, safety, security and efficiency will always be hardwired into every system.

ARINC
Pegasus One
Pegasus Place
Gatwick Road
Crawley
West Sussex RH10 9AY

Tel: 01293 641 200
Email: emea@arinc.com
Web: www.arinc.com/emea

 

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