EFF Management & Distribution: Connecting Flight Planning to the EFB

Electronic Flight Folders (EFFs) have become an important part of many airline operations, replacing paper-based flight briefing packages with digital information that can be delivered directly to the flight deck.

But creating an EFF is only one part of the process…

Airlines also need a reliable way to manage, distribute and track EFFs between their ground operations and the EFB applications used by flight crews.

Particularly important for airlines using a third-party EFB application alongside an existing flight planning or dispatch system.

This is where skybook can help...

By ingesting EFFs and flight schedules, skybook provides a central platform for managing and distributing ARINC 633 EFF briefings to third-party EFB providers or the skybook EFB applicaton.

This allows airlines to have their preferred EFB application while benefiting from a consistent, streamlined approach to EFF management and distribution.

What is an Electronic Flight Folder?

An Electronic Flight Folder brings together the operational information a crew needs for a flight into a structured digital package.

Depending on the airline's operation, this can include information such as:

• Operational flight plans
• Flight releases
• Weather information
• NOTAMs
• Loadsheet and operational documents
• ICAO flight plan information
• Other airline-specific briefing documents and attachments

ARINC 633 provides a standardised format for organising and exchanging this information between operational systems and to the EFB.

Instead of producing, printing and physically handling multiple documents, the EFF can be assembled electronically and made available to the flight crew through their EFB.

EFF management is more than sending a file

For an airline, simply delivering an EFF to an EFB isn't enough.

An EFF management system provides a seamless process for taking flight information from the airline's ground systems and delivering it to the flight deck, with visibility for ground operations:

1. Receiving EFF data
EFFs and flight schedules can be received from the airline's existing flight planning or dispatch systems via seamless integrations.

2. Preparing the briefing package
skybook intelligently ingests relevant flight information and supporting documents, bringing them together into a structured EFF.

3. Distributing the EFF
The completed briefing package is distributed to the airline's chosen EFB application or downstream EFB provider.

4. Managing updates
When a flight plan or operational information changes, the latest EFF can be distributed to the aircraft and crew.

5. Tracking the EFF lifecycle
Ground teams can monitor the status of EFFs and retain a record of important events throughout the flight's operational lifecycle.

This provides a clearer connection between flight planning, dispatch and the flight deck.

ARINC 633 EFF distribution to third-party EFB applications

An airline doesn't necessarily need to use the same provider for its flight planning system, EFF management and EFB application.

ARINC 633 provides the standardised structure used to exchange Electronic Flight Folder information.

A distribution platform like skybook ingests the required EFF information and makes an ARINC 633 EFF available for delivery to supported third-party EFB applications, including IFS EFBOne, Aviobook, Taillog, Logipad and others.

For airlines, this can reduce the need to create individual processes between every flight planning system and EFB combination.

The result is a more flexible architecture where the airline can choose the EFB application that best fits its operation while maintaining a consistent approach to EFF management and distribution.

The EFB application remains the environment used by the pilot, while skybook manages the information flow from the airline's operational systems through to the flight deck.

Why does this matter for airline operations?

As airlines add more digital systems, maintaining reliable connections between them becomes increasingly important.

Flight planning, dispatch, EFF generation, EFB applications and post-flight systems all need to exchange information accurately.

A central EFF management and distribution platform can help airlines:

• Reduce manual handling of flight briefing information
• Standardise EFF distribution across the operation
• Connect existing flight planning systems with third-party EFBs
• Keep crews supplied with the latest operational information
• Improve visibility of briefing and distribution status

Ultimately, EFF management is about creating a reliable information flow between the systems preparing the flight and the people operating it.

One briefing process, multiple EFB options

Airlines should not necessarily have to choose between the EFB they want and the systems they already use.

With the right EFF management and distribution architecture, operational flight information can be received, structured, managed and distributed to the EFB environment already used by the crew.

skybook provides this capability as part of its flight operations platform, allowing airlines to manage and distribute ARINC 633 EFFs to supported third-party EFB applications.

Get in touch to find out more today.

Frequently Asked Questions