US Airways has selected defense and security company Saab AB subsidiary Saab Sensis Corporation’s Aerobahn® airport surface management system for use at its three hubs located at the Charlotte-Douglas (CLT), Philadelphia (PHL) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airports (PHX). Saab Sensis Aerobahn will provide US Airways with precise, real-time visibility of all ground operations with a suite of tools that improves operational efficiency, reliability and customer convenience.
Saab Sensis Aerobahn combines airside operational information, such as flight schedules, planned arrival and departure gates and passenger/bag connection information, with precise aircraft and vehicle surveillance and identification for a real-time, comprehensive view of surface operations. In addition to situational awareness, Aerobahn offers users a number of customizable tools to assist in the proactive management of surface operations, including departure/arrival queues, runway use status, and traffic flow monitoring to minimize emissions while maximizing on-time operational performance. Aerobahn’s advanced Dynamic Rules event alerting capability empowers users to create their own customized filters and displays to more effectively identify critical operating conditions and issues such as arrival and departure rates, gate utilization, or long on-board delays. All events are recorded for future playback to identify trends and develop new procedures that mitigate delays or similar events in the future. Aerobahn also provides users with the ability to create their own reports based on numerous variables for detailed analysis of operations.
“Saab Sensis Aerobahn will help us provide better service for our customers by giving us real-time insight into our ground operations,” said US Airways’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom. “The bird’s-eye view of the airport surface helps our team reduce tarmac delays, ensure more on-time arrivals and departures and more effectively manage operations during inclement weather, which results in a better experience for our customers.”
Saab Sensis will integrate US Airways’ workflow processes into Aerobahn for a centralized, automatically updated system that tracks the steps needed to manage arrivals and departures. In addition, by using proprietary US Airways data feeds, Aerobahn will display the aircraft position and state in the gate areas without deploying a gate surveillance system.
“US Airways is deploying the latest features in our decade-long commitment to Aerobahn advancements, such as integrated workflow process tracking. For example, Aerobahn will automatically determine the number of flights on the airport surface waiting for clearance, and provide operational personnel with accurate information to evaluate and track gate holds, flight status and departure sequence in order to capture additional efficiencies,” said Ken Kaminski, vice president and general manager of Saab Sensis. “This further positions Aerobahn as the surface management system of choice for top airports, airlines and air navigation service providers charged with proactively managing operations on the surface for improved customer experience and operational cost savings.”
Saab Sensis Aerobahn is the most widely deployed airport surface management system in the industry, being used by airlines, airport operators and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) around the world. Additionally, Aerobahn is the surface management system for the industry’s only fully realized collaborative airport surface operations environment at JFK International Airport – where the ANSP (Federal Aviation Administration), airport owner (Port Authority of New York/New Jersey) and authorized airlines all have access to the same data for coordinated operations.
