Rockwell Collins engineers are hard at work ona top-to-bottom overhaul of NetJets’ information management back office, an effort that Collins said will allow the fractional operator to automate its scheduling, maintenance and document update tasks.
Called eFlight, the Rockwell Collins concept seeks to replace paper-intensive processes with electronic database and document management technology. No contract has been signed yet, but at press time the two companies were said to be close to reaching an agreement to apply eFlight across the NetJets fleet. Besides automating scheduling and other tasks, eFlight would allow pilots to upload FMS databases to the airplanes and, perhaps at some point in the future, manage entirely paperless cockpits.
In announcing the development effort with NetJets, Rockwell Collins said that two commercial carriers, EasyJet and Singapore Airlines, have signed up for the eFlight service, which they will use for enhanced electronic information management between airplanes and ground operations.