Smart Planes Get Smarter Solutions from SITA OnAir
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The new SITA OnAir product is a unique and comprehensive suite of ground and in-flight connectivity solutions which make the goal of true gate-to-gate nose-to-tail connected aircraft a reality.
“The connected aircraft is probably the most important development in aviation IT in a generation,” says Ian Dawkins, CEO OnAir. “We are the only supplier with the range of expertise to make it a viable reality.”
“We’re bringing together all the aircraft related activity,” he tells us, “Everything gate-to-gate. That’s all the communications to the aircraft whether it’s passenger, crew, cockpit or [aircraft monitoring].”
It expands OnAir’s established portfolio of in-flight connectivity and entertainment products and adds links to crew tablets, onboard retailing, electronic flight bags, weather situation awareness, overall flight management data, flight messaging, flight tracking and aircraft health monitoring.
The SITA OnAir suite of solutions are hardware agnostic and integrate with an airline’s existing systems, connectivity and information technology infrastructure. Airlines are free to pick and choose those solutions which work best for their operations. SITA OnAir also complements products from specialized hardware and service suppliers. Dawkins tells us SITA OnAir will collaborate with existing suppliers on integration.
“I believe that we will work with a number of partners to bring additional services to come onto the platform,” Dawkins says.
Uniquely, SITA OnAir links the airline’s network with that of the airport, giving airlines a comprehensive ground and air solution.
“It’s a win-win for passengers and airlines, connecting people throughout their whole journey, increasing revenue by encouraging more people to fly and reducing costs by improving turnaround times and on-time performance. We are using the respective strengths of SITA OnAir to create powerful solutions for the entire airline industry,” says Francesco Violante, CEO of SITA.
Read our interview with OnAir’s Ian Dawkins, “Conversations in Connectivity,” here.
