Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Dec 3, 2014 Steeped in the heat of intense competition, Asia-Pacific airlines must now confront additional challenges related to safety and health pandemics. With the loss of Malaysia Airlines flights  MH 370  and  MH 17  earlier this year, it came as no surprise that safety became the prime focus at the recent 58th Assembly of Presidents of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines ( AAPA ) in Tokyo. The 16-member  AAPA , which recently added Air Astana to its membership base, articulates views on common areas of interest of airlines in the region that jointly fly 5,911 aircraft, carrying 31 percent of global passenger traffic and generating $163 billion in annual revenues. “ AAPA  urges governments to improve efforts in the sharing of accurate intelligence and information related to flight safety on a global basis and to support the development of an augmented distribution system for the enhanced sharing of conflict zone ri...

AINONLINE by    NEELAM MATHEWS SITA expects the use of new technologies such as Apple’s iBeacon to enhance passengers’ experience at airports. (Photo: SITA/Ernst Tobisch) June 30, 2014, 11:53 AM IT  provider  SITA  has begun using new technologies such as Apple’s iBeacon to provide real-time information on mobile devices to help passengers move seamlessly across airports to board flights on time. American Airlines has become the first airline to use the  SITA common-use beacon registry, launched at the recent  SITA  Air Transport  IT  summit in Brussels. A six-month pilot program at Dallas/Fort Worth will use 100 iBeacons–the largest ever deployment and a precursor to a permanent implementation in eight hubs. SITA  installs the Apple-supported iBeacons on airport walls; they measure about one inch in diameter and carry a range of 2 meters to 100 meters. The iBeacons use Bluetooth low energy and g...