Cathay to trial new 'comms' system

	Cathay Pacific Airways: new communication system will reduce turnaround times

ARINC’s GateFusion allows for seamless transfer of data such as Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA), electronic flight bag (EFB), and inflight entertainment (IFE), using wi-fi or wireless communications.

“With GateFusion you can move large data files seamlessly with the optimal wireless connection between aircraft and ground-based applications,” said Dan Pendergast, ARINC’s senior director for airline programmes in the Asia-Pacific.

“We will be installing an electronic flight bag class 2 system on a B777 aircraft by mid-February for the operational trials. There is a bunch of very significant accomplishments associated with that and probably one of the most significant is the capability to have wi-fi capability connected to the airplane to upload and download information to the EFBs that are going to be installed.

“Along with that is the capability on the ground to manage the wi-fi communication capability along with VHF and the other medias. The ground system will have the smarts to send, depending on the size of the application, the information not only over ACARS, but over wi-fi and manage the content of the applications.”

The system will give aircraft crews access to a variety of new capabilities. Information previously received on paper will be easily accessible through the EFB and pilots will be able to do calculations on the aircraft they have been unable to do up to now.

“Errors will be reduced. They will save time and they will save paper. It will also quicken the turnaround time for the aircraft,” said Pendergast.

Ground crew will also benefit. “Currently, the maintenance people have to use a memory stick to download parameters from the aircraft on its structure and engines and so forth. With a wi-fi connection to the aircraft it will enable information to be downloaded more quickly. If there are any issues people will know about them sooner,” he said.

“It will be a very significant accomplishment once the aircraft is retrofitted with the EFB and the communications capability is deployed in Hong Kong with Cathay. This will be a precursor to prove the technology does work and provides benefits. It should help the business case to move forward with multiple retrofits on wider fleets of aircraft.”