Making it easy

AVIATION: New technology on offer promises to make life easier for passengers and crew.

Self-operated kiosks at airports for printing boarding cards, systems that allow usage of the phone while airborne, improved air-ground communications and enhanced on-ground communications are some of the things that new technology players entering the fast-growing Indian aviation field are offering.

"Airlines today need better IT services in India. In partnership with Bird Consultancy Services, ARINC is offering three product sets in the Indian market "" air to ground, ground to ground and airport automation," says Ankur Bhatia, executive director, Bird Consultancy Services (BCS).

The company has launched GLOBALink VHF datalink communications at India's four metro airports. This link enables air crews to communicate and exchange information with ground crews and airline host systems on the ground.

This product will soon be available at five more airports, including Bangalore and Hyderabad, while and another 10 will be added in 2007.

As part of its airport automation systems, ARINC, is offering passenger check-in systems like Common Use self-service (CUSS) kiosks as well as Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE). CUSS would allow passengers of multiple airlines to use a single kiosk to generate their boarding cards.

Randy Pizzi, vice-president and managing director, ARINC Asia Pacific, says that it recently installed 126 CUSS kiosks in the Star Alliance terminal at Tokyo's Narita Airport.

CUTE (which ARINC calls MUSE or Multi-User System Environment), will enable terminals at airport counters to issue boarding passes for any airline, eliminating the need for separate counters for each airline. The company is in talks with airlines and airport operators for the use of these systems.

The big win for users would be doing away with the cellphone-switch-off on a flight. ARINC is ready with its AeroMobile product and is in negotiations with airlines too.

What has stopped the roll out of the product on an international carrier passing over India are the regulations of the government of India.