Arinc Direct, the business aviation services division of Annapolis, Md.-based Arinc, has officially launched a lineup of flight-support services for corporate flight departments and FBOs. The company said the menu of service choices now offerred includes worldwide flight planning, weather information, flight following, voice and data communications, ground handling and global concierge services.
An Arinc spokeswoman said each of the new services has been developed with ease of access in mind. A dedicated staff in Annapolis handles flight-support requests. All related applications are available to customers over the Web. Users on the ground, said the spokeswoman, can access flight-planning tools, weather services and ground-handling services, as well as billing and account information, via the Internet. Customers can also access any of the services by calling the Arinc data center.
The addition of flight-support options to Arinc Direct’s service mix expands the capability of the new division, headed by company vice president David Poltorak, and pits it against well known competitors such as Honeywell Global Data Center, Jeppesen and Universal Weather & Aviation. As described, Arinc’s flight-planning tools allow pilots to compute, file and store flight plans on a PC and then upload them directly to the FMS. Weather information available on the Web includes winds aloft, color radar graphics, route weather briefs and “many other” aviation-related weather products. Staff meteorologists, said the spokeswoman, are available 24 hours a day by telephone to answer questions.
In addition, oceanic clearances, slot reservations, terminal weather, notams and digital ATIS are available in the air or through Arinc’s secure Web site. Flight departments can send text messages to aircraft and pilots can respond in text or by using Arinc Direct’s voice service. Both data and voice messages are transmitted over the Arinc’s network, used in more than 2,000 business jets. Available ATC messaging includes pre-departure clearances, digital ATIS, North Atlantic oceanic clearances and terminal weather information.
Arinc has teamed with Air Routing International to improve its international ground service capabilities and added access to security briefings from Air Security International, which monitors security problems around the world. The addition of flight-support services to the Arinc Direct portfolio is in keeping with other moves into the business aviation market in the last couple of years. In addition to flight planning, weather and datalink services, Arinc Direct now also offers avionics installations at its dedicated facility in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Formed to provide services tailored to business aircraft operators, the group is an umbrella for a variety of business aviation-related products and services. At the top of that list is a complete line of RVSM approval support services, including the physical modifications needed to meet the new rule’s requirements. Upgrades can be performed at the recently expanded service center in Colorado Springs or Arinc personnel will come to the customer’s location. In addition, Arinc can prepare an operator’s complete RVSM approval package before submittal to the FAA and schedule monitoring test flights from sites around the U.S. and Canada.
Arinc Direct is also developing SkyLink, a satellite-based broadband Internet service for business jets. Gulfstream and Arinc have been testing the concept on a GIV. Gulfstream in September announced it has ordered 40 of the in-flight broadband satcom systems for customer airplanes. In tests SkyLink has been achieving connection rates of around 540 Kbps. By the time the service goes fully operational later this year it is expected to deliver data rates as high as 5 Mbps.     o쇓