Tag: enhance (Page 2 of 2)

Bombardier Joint Venture Wins Contract to Build 160 New Chinese Standard High-Speed Train Cars

January 4, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

With around 4,500 train cars already delivered, Bombardier’s Chinese joint venture is the only Sino-foreign entity to win a new Chinese standard high-speed train bid
New Chinese standard high-speed train cars to enhance passenger experience and contribute to the expansion of the world’s longest high-speed rail network

Global mobility solution provider Bombardier Transportation announced today that its Chinese joint venture, Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd. (BST), has been awarded a contract from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CHINA RAILWAY) to supply 160 CR400AF cars, a new Chinese standard high-speed train car for China’s evolving high-speed rail network. The 160 cars will be configured into ten 16-car trainsets with an operating speed of 350 km/h. The total contract is valued at approximately 2.97 billion CNY ($427 million US, 380 million euro). Bombardier Transportation owns 50 per cent of the shares in BST, which is consolidated by Bombardier Transportation’s partner CRRC Sifang Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.

Jianwei Zhang, President, Bombardier Transportation China, said, “We are very proud to have been chosen to supply the new generation of CR400AF cars, a high-speed railway car, through our BST joint venture. China’s high-speed rail industry has become one of the nation’s economic pillar industries and the high-speed network has brought greater mobility and prosperity to the public. Bombardier is proud of its contributions to China’s rail industry and looks forward to delivering more of the high-quality products that are helping China meet its ambitious long-term mobility goals.”

In 2018, BST won two contracts to build a total of 288 CR400AF cars and every car was delivered on-time and on quality. This latest contract is BST’s third and reflects the trust that CHINA RAILWAY has in BST’s efficiency, reliability and competitive edge. All 160 cars will be delivered by mid-2020.

Bombardier Transportation in China is the full solution provider across the entire value chain. From vehicles and propulsion to services and design, Bombardier Transportation in China has seven joint ventures, six wholly foreign-owned enterprises, and more than 8,000 employees. Together, the joint ventures have delivered 4,500 railway passenger cars, 580 electric locomotives and over 2,500 metro cars, Monorail, APM, and trams to China’s growing rail transit markets. It is a major signalling supplier to the Chinese high-speed network and through its joint ventures, propulsion equipment and signalling systems are utilized in a total of 30 Chinese cities.

Wizz Air Partners With Sabre to Leverage Intelligent Planning

December 4, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LONDON and SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Dec. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Wizz Air (PNK: WZZAF) Europe’s greenest airline and leading low cost carrier in Central Eastern Europe, has selected Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, as a strategic partner to enhance its network planning and scheduling technology. With this new agreement, Wizz Air joins a portfolio of more than 80 airlines that have implemented Sabre’s leading technology to optimize complex schedule and slot management processes.

Sabre has a strong reputation in driving results through its intelligent planning and scheduling solutions. Empowering collaborative and intelligent decision-making, Sabre AirVision Schedule Manager helps airlines build and deliver robust, accurate and operationally feasible schedules across their networks. This proven solution has helped airlines achieve up to 9% incremental operating profit and up to 12% increase in productivity.

Wizz Air has implemented Sabre AirVision Slot Manager and Schedule Manager, equipping it with the right mechanisms to reduce the risks of losing valuable historic slot rights, while enabling increased productivity and a fast response to rescheduling.

“Adopting the right planning and scheduling technology has a significant impact on revenue optimization and cost reduction, as well as running a robust and efficient operation,” said George Michalopoulos, chief commercial officer at Wizz Air. “Sabre’s end-to-end planning and scheduling suite provides Wizz Air with the intelligence and flexibility needed to deploy optimized schedules.”

Sabre’s agreement with Wizz Air reflects its ongoing investment in creating technology solutions that are perfectly adapted to the requirements of different airline business models. With a customer community that includes a portfolio of airlines in the network, low-cost and ultra-low-cost categories, Sabre is consistently driving innovation through its partnerships.

“Wizz Air has a solid and ambitious plan for profitable expansion, and therefore needed a strong technology partner,” said Alessandro Ciancimino, vice president sales Europe, Travel Solutions, Sabre. “Sabre’s suite of technology helps airlines to get schedules to market faster, rapidly respond to market conditions in real time, and more efficiently manage a growing network of routes – which will help it position itself competitively, and differentiate itself among increased competition.”

About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabre’s software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more than US$120 billion of global travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world.

About Wizz Air
Wizz Air, the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, offers more than 700 routes from 25 bases, connecting 152 destinations across 44 countries. A team of more than 5,000 aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low fares making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 38 million passengers in the past 12 months. WIZZ operates an all-Airbus fleet of 120 aircraft. Its A320s are equipped with 180 seats, its A321s with 230 seats and its A321neo aircraft with 239 seats. According to the latest data of the Swiss airline intelligence provider CH-Aviation, Wizz Air has one of the youngest airline fleets in the world.

Bane NOR and Siemens Mobility Celebrate Milestone in Digitalization of Norway’s Rail Network

November 2, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Campus Nyland test, training and signaling simulation center opens
European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) latest in intelligent infrastructure
Nordlandsbanen will open first digital signaling railway in October 2022

Bane NOR and Siemens Mobility celebrated the opening of Campus Nyland, a test, training and signaling simulation center which will help the rail network operator prepare for the digitalization of the entire system. Norway has committed to becoming the first country to operate with a single digital interlocking and ERTMS signifies one of the country’s largest digitalization projects. In 2022, the first digital line, Nordlandsbanen, will open. In advance, the Campus Nyland center will prepare workers for working within the digital system, ERTMS. The intelligent infrastructure behind ERTMS will reduce operating costs and increase capacity throughout the network. In addition, it will enhance safety, with real-time visibility of trains across the network. When complete in 2034, the system will include 4,200 km of track and more than 350 stations.

“Siemens Mobility is the main supplier to the Norwegian ERTMS program with their infrastructure, including interlockings and radio block centres (RBC). The Siemens Mobility solution is leading edge based upon an IP based architecture. With a strong technical roadmap and a proven ability to deliver, Siemens Mobility is the ideal partner for Bane NOR in this challenging program. We are thrilled to work together with Siemens Mobility to develop the digital rail,” said Sverre Kjenne, Executive Vice President Digitalisation and Technology, Bane NOR.

“Norway is on track to become the first country to operate in the “one country, one interlocking” architecture making it at the forefront of digitalization. Our intelligent infrastructure will ensure that the system operates efficiently. The digital interlocking, with IP controlled field components, and ERTMS are the backbone to greatly improving operations and maintenance. This architecture also opens the door for future developments such as implementing driverless technologies, moving the interlocking to the cloud, which would make proprietary hardware and spare parts a relic of the past, and would make data instantaneously available to transportation operators,” stated Michael Peter, Siemens Mobility CEO. “Campus Nyland is an important milestone in turning this vision into reality.”

Campus Nyland will be an industry center for digital education and will house more than 5,000 employees, who will learn the necessary digital skills needed to ensure ERTMS is successful when it goes operational. These will include individuals from Bane NOR, train companies, maintenance companies and contractors. Bane NOR will facilitate simulator training as well as physical training facilities. New technology, such as virtual reality, will be used to communicate how the tracks are built with ERTMS, as well as the design of trains and traffic control centers. More than 150 different scenarios are available for training within the highly digital training hub.

In the spring of 2020, the Roa – Hønefoss ERTMS test line opens. The new signaling technology will be monitored and tested from Campus Nyland.

The next important milestone in turning ERTMS into a reality will be the digitalization of the first Norwegian rail line. In October 2022, Nordlandsbanen, which operates from Grong to Bodø, and represents about 12 percent of the Norwegian railway will go operational.

Boeing Statement On Lion Air Flight 610 Final Report

October 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) issued the following statement regarding the release today of the final investigation report of Lion Air Flight 610 by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT):

“On behalf of everyone at Boeing, I want to convey our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in these accidents. We mourn with Lion Air, and we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the Lion Air family,” said Boeing President & CEO Dennis Muilenburg. “These tragic events have deeply affected us all and we will always remember what happened.”

“We commend Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee for its extensive efforts to determine the facts of this accident, the contributing factors to its cause and recommendations aimed toward our common goal that this never happens again.”

“We are addressing the KNKT’s safety recommendations, and taking actions to enhance the safety of the 737 MAX to prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again. Safety is an enduring value for everyone at Boeing and the safety of the flying public, our customers, and the crews aboard our airplanes is always our top priority. We value our long-standing partnership with Lion Air and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”

Boeing experts, working as technical advisors to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, have supported the KNKT over the course of the investigation. The company’s engineers have been working with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other global regulators to make software updates and other changes, taking into account the information from the KNKT’s investigation.

Since this accident, the 737 MAX and its software are undergoing an unprecedented level of global regulatory oversight, testing and analysis. This includes hundreds of simulator sessions and test flights, regulatory analysis of thousands of documents, reviews by regulators and independent experts and extensive certification requirements.

Over the past several months Boeing has been making changes to the 737 MAX. Most significantly, Boeing has redesigned the way Angle of Attack (AoA) sensors work with a feature of the flight control software known as Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Going forward, MCAS will compare information from both AoA sensors before activating, adding a new layer of protection.

In addition, MCAS will now only turn on if both AoA sensors agree, will only activate once in response to erroneous AOA, and will always be subject to a maximum limit that can be overridden with the control column.

These software changes will prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again.

In addition, Boeing is updating crew manuals and pilot training, designed to ensure every pilot has all of the information they need to fly the 737 MAX safely.

Boeing continues to work with the FAA and other regulatory agencies worldwide on the certification of the software update and training program to safely return the 737 MAX to service.

Collins Aerospace’s ARINC Rail Solution to Integrate Operations for Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority

October 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

New Passenger Information Management System will create a single technology information delivery platform for Link light rail vehicles, Sounder Commuter Rail trains and Tacoma Link light rail vehicles
Secure, scalable and flexible to meet future agency expansion needs for all transit modes

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Oct. 11, 2019) – The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority – known as Sound Transit – will be streamlining its operations and improving the passenger experience via a new Passenger Information Management System (PIMS) being implemented by the ARINC rail solutions team at Collins Aerospace Systems, a business unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

PIMS will transform operations for Sound Transit’s Link light rail vehicles, Sounder Commuter Rail trains, and Tacoma Link light rail vehicles by integrating information services for all three transit modes into a single enterprise solution. Doing so will enable real-time data acquisition and processing to predict train arrival, which can provide passengers with reliable and accurate audio and visual message delivery on all rail cars and transit platforms. In addition, the solution will offer a Google Transit Feed to be used by Sound Transit to transmit messaging to the general public via the Internet. This open architecture-based solution provides the scalability and flexibility required for any future agency expansion needs across all transit modes.

Along with the strict and rigorous requirements for sustained operations, open integration and prediction/arrival train calculations, cybersecurity for the PIMS project and other critical digital systems is at the forefront for Sound Transit. The ARINC cybersecurity team will be performing security hardening and implementation services aligned with American Public Transportation Authority guidelines and best practices throughout every stage of the project from the design phase to system commissioning and throughout revenue service. Applying these tools and techniques will reduce vulnerabilities within the PIMS systems and applications on a continuous basis.

“As the current provider of Sound Transit’s train control system, we will leverage technology and provide new applications that build upon our current passenger information product suite to quickly design, integrate, secure and install the next generation PIMS solution,” said Frank Koren, director of Business Development within the Information Management Services division at Collins Aerospace. “Sound Transit has committed to significantly expand its transit services, which comes with the need to provide ongoing high-quality customer experiences. Our proven track record of developing cutting-edge customer information systems will help them ensure they do so for years to come.”

*Collins Aerospace is providing Sound Transit with a Passenger Information Management System to help streamline its operations and improve the passenger experience.*

United Airlines Announces MileagePlus Miles Never Expire

August 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — United Airlines announced that effective immediately, MileagePlus award miles never expire, giving members a lifetime to use miles on flights, experiences, hotels and more.

“We want to demonstrate to our members that we are committing to them for the long-haul and giving customers a lifetime to use miles is an exceptionally meaningful benefit,” said Luc Bondar, vice president of loyalty and president of MileagePlus at United. “Our MileagePlus program provides customers more ways to earn and use miles than any other U.S. airline. More customers used miles to book award trips in 2018 than in any year before, and we expect with today’s announcement that even more will use miles to travel the world in the years to come.”

United continues to enhance its award-winning MileagePlus program, making it more beneficial for customers. Highlights include:

Recently announced partnership with CLEAR that includes free or discounted CLEAR membership pricing for U.S.-based MileagePlus members.
Award travel to more destinations than any other U.S. airline with service to more than 1,300 destinations through United and Star Alliance partners, and ability to book award travel on United and all Star Alliance partners through the United mobile app.
Most low-priced economy award availability of any global U.S. airline.
Everyday opportunities to use miles starting as low as 1,000 miles for eGift cards when purchasing through MileagePlusX.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers’ best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today’s announcement, United recently announced that customers on all domestic flights can now choose from three complimentary inflight snack items, announced that luxury skincare line Sunday Riley will make products exclusively for United customers to experience in amenity kits, released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry, introduced ConnectionSaver, a new tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers connecting from one United flight to the next and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats.