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By Shane Spencer | 15 Apr 2020

Managing global schedules just got easier…

April marks the launch of our latest skybook updates with a range of enhancements available across the ground portal and our EFB application.

We have also increased our integration options which further enhances our ability to manage the two way flow of vital flight information into and away from skybook, enabling a skybook to manage information from wide range of third party solutions.

Read on to see where our development teams have focussed their attention during the latest release cycle – Starting in our Ground Portal…

skybook  Ground Portal

 

What’s new - Dispatch


Raim Profiles on skybook

RAIM Reports for ETOPS Alternates

skybook already provides detailed RAIM reports for airports and we have further enhanced this by making it possible to view reports that are specific to alternate airports for ETOPS flights.

This helps flights operations teams, dispatch teams and also flight crews drill down further to view ETOPS specific RAIM information with ease, providing them with a far more detailed overview ahead of each flight.

Oceanic Entry and Exit points on NAT Tracks

Weather charts are included as part of skybook packages (subject to subscription type), they are created in house and generated automatically for each sector based on the settings and requirements of each operator.

In our latest release we have further enhanced our charts by giving operators the ability to label charts with oceanic entry and exit points using NAT Tracks.

An example of this can be seen in the chart image below which utilises NAT Tracks when flying a route over the North Atlantic and clearly depicts the oceanic entry and exit points making them clear for the crew.

 

What’s new - Planning Portal


Chart Region Key diagram
Chart Region Key diagram

The Planning Portal provides instant access to a wide range of real time information on a global scale at touch of a button.

Within the Planning Portal, users can review all charts by type, region and time period and in our latest release we have enhanced this function by releasing a ‘key’ diagram that clearly depicts the regional area covered by each of the charts available making it easier than ever to select and review the information required.

Viewing of Departure and Destination notices in Planning Portal
Viewing of Departure and Destination notices in Planning Portal

Users can already access a detailed overview of global airfield information featuring up to date METAR, TAF and NOTAM along with notices and briefings specific to each airfield.

We have now increased this area by ensuring skybook also imports additional notices, messages or briefings for airfields that feature as departure or destination alternates can be viewed as well which is particularly useful for pilots who fly repeat routes and want to review airport details prior to briefing packs being generated.

 

What’s new - Interfaces and Integration


Flight schedule and crew rostering integrations

For operators who use third party scheduling and crew rostering systems, the information can now be received and ingested directly into skybook via a suitable webservice and can also send the actual data captured during each sector back to these systems automatically post flight.

Using the extracted information mentioned above, an AIMS compliant CSV file containing the journey log information can also be created as part of the closure event and sent to a provided SFTP location to be automatically ingested into AIMS.

An example of the data captured can be seen as follows:
data capture

To allow for operators who take advantage of a 3% contingency fuel reduction approved by their regulators, en-route alternates which are designated as a nominated 3% contingency airfield will now be included in the OFP. This can be viewed in the following areas:

  • Sector Briefing
  • PDF Briefing Pack
  • EFB

 

Sector signed documents viewable in Flight Summary

It is now possible for skybook administrators to view Loadsheets and NOTOCs for a specific sector in the Asset Files tab of the Flight Data Summary. These files will be visible once signed and then transmitted to skybook.

 

Integration with PPS Flight Planning

Integration with PPS flight planning is now available. The following files are obtained from the PPS webservice:

  • ofp.xml
  • ofp.pdf
  • ATCFlightPlan.xml

 

These files are used to generate a flight record in Dispatch and voyages can be generated in the Sector Briefing module and PDF Briefing Pack created. This integration also allows for an EFF file to be created and sent for the flight.

 

API authentication and sector attachments

Using a secure API, it is now possible for third parties to attach PDF documents to specific sectors. Additional security is provided with the API usage being authorised using an API key stored against the organisation. Currently available file types that can be attached are:

  • General
  • Loadsheet
  • NOTOC
  • GENDEC
  • CANPASS
  • trip_itinerary
  • crew_itinerary

 

Updates to event notifications

The Voyage Event interface has been expanded to allow more events to be transmitted from skybook to a customer endpoint.

The Voyage Event interface was released in skybook 1.19.0, allowing the following events to be sent to a configured customer endpoint:

  • Voyage Download
  • OFP Sign-off
  • Flight Closure
  • Return to Gate
  • Return to Field
  • Fuel Order

 

skybook release 1.20.0 adds the following events to the Voyage Event interface:

Voyage Event Interface

 

What’s new - Operator Settings

Displaying Commercial Flight Number

skybook users can now toggle between displaying the ATC or Commercial Flight Numbers in any relevant areas of the Ground Portal or EFB. In doing so, the selected option will update the flight number in the following areas:

  • Viewing flights in Dispatch.
  • Viewing flights in the Received OFP Status table.
  • Searching by the flight number in Sector Briefing - Create New Voyage selector.
  • Sector Briefing - Create Voyage.
  • Sector Briefing - Sector Summary.
  • Sector Briefing - Re-print Voyage.
  • In the briefing pack - CNS/FLIGHT number summary.
  • Record Vault - sectors history.
  • In the flight summary - Flight Number/Callsign.
  • Any notices created using the commercial flight number will appear in the briefing pack.
  • Used in the skybook EFB.

 

 

What to do next?

The list of items featured above are by no means exhaustive but give a strong sense of the enhancements available within our latest skybook release.

If you are interested in finding out more about skybook, trying it for yourselves or simply want to add some of the new functionality to your existing package simply contact your account manager or email us via info@bytron.aero.

Check out our most up-to-date release notes for more information on the skybook product range visit www.bytron.aero

 

 

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