Tag: optimize

Boeing Digital Services to Optimize Planning and Operations for Frontier Airlines

December 10, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced a new 10-year agreement with North American carrier Frontier Airlines to implement a range of crew, flight-planning and operations tools to enhance efficiency for the airline.

These digital solutions from Boeing’s Jeppesen product range provide fleet-wide cost savings across regional and international routes, enhance airline crew-planning processes and increase operational reliability.

“We are fully confident that these robust Jeppesen flight-planning and operational tools will bring tremendous benefit to Frontier’s operations from day one following implementation,” said Brad Lambert, vice president of Flight Operations for Frontier Airlines. “From maintenance and operational planning to day-of and irregular operations, the Jeppesen automation and crew-management tools will complement our low-cost business model while contributing to our system reliability and efficiency.”

In addition to its digital navigation and charting services from Boeing, Frontier Airlines will use a new Jeppesen digital solutions suite that provides day-of-operations decision-support tools, including:

– Flight-planning and scheduling services to enhance flight operations and enable on-time departures and efficient routing

– Crew management, tail assignment and operations-control tools that optimize schedules and aircraft utilization in the short- and long-term planning horizon, including day-of-operation issue detection and schedule recovery to minimize issues due to unexpected events

“As commercial aviation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Frontier Airlines is poised to continue its exceptional growth, utilizing Boeing’s analytics-powered tools to maximize performance and reduce costs during this critical moment for our industry,” said Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Global Services. “This is a great example of our partnership with customers like Frontier to turn Boeing’s unparalleled digital expertise into operational bottom-line advantages.”

Frontier Airlines is committed to “Low Fares Done Right.” Headquartered in Denver, the company operates more than 100 aircraft with a route network spanning the U.S., the Caribbean and Mexico. With 160 new planes on order, Frontier will continue to grow to deliver on the mission of providing affordable travel across America.

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As a top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries, leveraging the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.

American Airlines Announces New Investments at DFW Airport

December 7, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Investments as airline expands global network from DFW, improves customer experience

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines has announced plans to build a new, larger catering kitchen at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The new facility is part of American’s long-term growth strategy at its largest hub, and will allow the airline to better serve customers as it grows.

The investment reaffirms American’s commitment to grow and improve customer experience at DFW. In addition to the new kitchen, construction is also slated to begin ona a state-of-the-art aircraft parts distribution facility, which will help reduce maintenance delays by providing parts from DFW to American’s global network.

This year alone, American has expanded at DFW by adding 15 more gates and increasing the amount of flying to 900 daily departures. Additionally, the airline introduced a Flagship Lounge to serve premium customers travelling to international destinations. The growth is part of a larger strategy that will continue as American continues to invest in the operational efficiency and customer experience initiatives at DFW.

“DFW remains a great source of opportunity and growth for American,” said Cedric Rockamore, American’s Vice President of DFW of Hub Operations. “These investments will ensure we can continue to welcome the world to and through DFW for a very long time.”

Catering kitchen

American will build a new catering kitchen to support DFW’s current and future catering demands. The new facility will replace the existing catering kitchen, which was built in 1982 and is too small to support the airport’s growing operation. Construction on the new kitchen will begin in January 2020.

“In addition to more space, the new kitchen will provide updated equipment and efficiencies to improve our catering operation, which improves our reliability and provides a better experience for our customers,” Rockamore said.

The $100 million construction project will take about 18 months to complete and supports the first phase of development for DFW’s new Terminal F. This phase includes four new gates and customer areas located on the southeast corner of Terminal D and is scheduled to open in 2022.

The kitchen will continue to be staffed and operated by LSG Sky Chefs, the airport’s largest catering vendor.

Central Fulfillment Center and cargo mail facility

American plans to break ground in January 2020 on a new Central Fulfillment Center that will house aircraft parts for line maintenance support across our network. The 390,000-square-foot facility will enable the airline to fulfill request for parts up to 75% faster, minimizing potential maintenance delays. Locating this facility at DFW enhances our ability to distribute parts for overnight maintenance throughout the network.

This project will also include a facility for cargo mail, a key revenue stream and narrowbody product for American Airlines Cargo. The expanded space will allow the Cargo team to optimize fleet, network and market demands for transporting mail.

Terminal expansion

To support the demand for additional growth, DFW continues to develop new and optimize existing terminal spaces. These efforts include two new gates and customer areas at Terminal E, which American will utilize to support summer 2020 flying, and the continued development of Terminal F.

With the first phase of development for Terminal F underway, details of the additional phases will be developed as American and DFW continue to study infrastructure demands and customer needs.

Alstom to Deliver 19 Electric Regional Trains in Germany

November 14, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom will deliver 19 Coradia Continental electric regional trains to the state of Baden-Württemberg. The contract, signed with DB Regio, is worth approximately €120 million. The trains will be built at Alstom’s site in Salzgitter.

Beginning in December 2022, the new trains will be gradually deployed on the routes from Karlsruhe to Heilbronn, Achern, as well as via Freudenstadt to Herrenberg.

The new trains have been designed to optimise passenger experience while meeting the region’s operational requirements. In addition to high-performance WiFi, they will include spacious multi-purpose areas in each car and a large capacity for bicycles. The trains are specifically designed to cope with the steep gradients that punctuate the tracks running through the Black Forest.

“Passengers in the Karlsruhe region can look forward to modern, proven and reliable trains. Our trains not only satisfy passengers, but are also known for outstanding reliability and availability, thus offering absolute planning security for operators,” says Jörg Nikutta, Managing Director of Alstom in Germany and Austria.

The Coradia Continental is part of Alstom’s Coradia range of modular trains that benefits from more than 30 years of know-how. To date, over 2,800 Coradia trains have been sold and 2,400 are currently in service in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada.

The new vehicles will be procured by DB Regio AG on behalf of the Ministry of Transport of the state of Baden-Württemberg as the responsible public transport authority for this network. After delivery of the vehicles, they become the property of the Landesanstalt Schienenfahrzeuge Baden-Württemberg (SFBW) and are leased by DB Regio for the term of the 13-year transport contract.