Qatar Airways introduces GlobalBeacon; further enhances passenger safety with real-time tracking
- All Qatar Airways flights will now benefit from real-time tracking, further enhancing passenger safety
- The introduction of GlobalBeacon ahead of the ICAO 2018 flight tracking recommended timeline
DOHA, Qatar, 2018-Nov-08 — /Travel PR News/ — Qatar Airways is proud to be the launch customer of GlobalBeacon, a key product solution created by FlightAware®and Aireon that provides the airline with global, real-time flight tracking.
In September 2016, Qatar Airways announced that it would be the first airline to adopt this innovative technology that would feed directly into its Integrated Operations Centre. Two years later, Qatar Airways, in partnership with FlightAware and Aireon, has announced that GlobalBeaconSM is now live and ready to provide the airline with global flight tracking, ahead of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Global Aeronautical Distress Safety System (GADSS) recommended timeline.
From the start of the product development cycle, the award-winning airline has been involved in beta testing and validation of GlobalBeacon, a technology that exceeds GADSS recommendations for flight tracking by providing airlines with minute-by-minute position updates for their aircraft at all times, anywhere in the world.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are thrilled to be the first airline in the world with a wide network to use space-based ADS-B technology, and we are honoured to collaborate with both FlightAware and Aireon on the development of this solution to achieve the highest level of flight tracking standards that exceed GADSS requirements and recommendations.”
“As one of the leading airlines in the world, our goal is to consistently deliver the best service to all our customers. GlobalBeacon seamlessly integrates with our existing ICAO 2018 compliant flight watch technology (Total Operations System), and further enhances the safety of our operations and fleet management by providing updates every minute or less. In doing so, this is a testimony to our ever-evolving leadership in the crucial area of aviation safety and awareness.”
GlobalBeacon will enable Qatar Airways to position itself to respond proactively in the event of an emergency, facilitating communication between the aircraft operator and the controller with constant fleet monitoring, automated distress alerts and tools that make it easy to share information.
Aireon CEO, Mr. Don Thoma, said: “With a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying all over the world, across remote and oceanic airspace, Qatar Airways and GlobalBeacon couldn’t be more perfect for each other. Being one of the youngest and fastest-growing leaders in the aviation industry, Qatar Airways’ initiative to implement the GADSS recommendations for flight tracking reinforces that safety is top priority and comes second to none.”
FlightAware CEO, Mr. Daniel Baker, added: “With Qatar Airways’ involvement early on, we’ve been able to test and validate GlobalBeacon to ensure that it incorporates best practices for global flight tracking and fleet monitoring. We applaud Qatar Airways’ early adoption and are extremely pleased with how they’ve been able to successfully deploy it to work in conjunction with their existing processes, increasing their ability to locate aircraft in distress and improving search and rescue capabilities.”
In March 2016, ICAO announced that GADSS was created to help improve the ability to detect commercial aircraft in remote locations. The key components of GADSS recommend that aircraft report their position to the airline’s operations centre at a minimum of once every 15 minutes under normal flight circumstances. However, if an aircraft should become in distress, position reports are then to be provided every minute. In light of this, the GlobalBeacon product, is the first of its kind being fully compliant with GADSS standards for flight tracking and will now provide a permanent minute-by-minute reporting capability, far exceeding the ICAO recommendations.
By combining FlightAware’s data processing platform and web-interface, with Aireon’s space-based ADS-B network, GlobalBeacon transcends borders and Flight Information Regions (FIRs) and eliminates coverage gaps in polar airspace as well as over deserts and oceanic regions. At the heart of GlobalBeacon’s proficiency is a culmination of tracking information from Aireon’s space-based ADS-B network and FlightAware’s contextual flight data – including origin, destination, flight plan route and estimated time of arrival (ETA).
In May 2016, Qatar Airways announced the successful completion of its TOPS fleet management system, designed to optimally schedule aircraft and manage flights. TOPS, which stands for Total Operations System, integrates data from multiple sources and produces a holistic view of the airline’s operation, from the global scale to the individual flight level, in order to anticipate and notify operations staff of any potential issue and provide solution options.
Specific tasks that can now be carried out due to this integration include, but are not limited to: tail assignment optimiser, whereby aircraft are assigned to specific lines of flying with respect to the operational needs of the route, based on the specific aircraft’s capabilities; NOTAM manager, where Notice to Airmen are immediately communicated to the specific dispatchers and operations staff for more perfect situational awareness; and Flight Watch, which consolidates all flight data into a single graphical source for ease of tracking, communicating with and managing the airline’s more than 500 daily flights to more than 150 destinations in six continents.
Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines, with a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft flying to business and leisure destinations across six continents. The award-winning airline recently revealed a host of upcoming new global destinations, including Gothenburg, Sweden; Da Nang, Vietnam and Mombasa, Kenya.
Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ by the 2018 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organization, Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Business Class Seat’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’.
Notes to Editors:
About Qatar Airways:
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating more than 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2018, including Gothenburg, Sweden; Da Nang, Vietnam; Mombasa, Kenya and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ by the 2018 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Business Class Seat,’ ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.
Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 4,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline’s on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.
Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message – Going Places Together.
Qatar Airways Cargo, one of the world’s leading international air cargo carriers, serves more than 60 freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally on more than 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes two Boeing 747-8 freighters, 15 Boeing 777 freighters and eight Airbus A330 freighters.
For further information, please contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200
Email: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa
Source: Qatar Airways
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