THE ROLE OF ICT IN AVIATION PDF

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SUBJECT : AIRPORT MANAGEMENT TOPIC: - THE ROLE OF ICT IN AVIATION COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES SUBMITTED TO : Prof. Arakala Kamlakar (PhD, PMP) Professor of Airport Management, Masters in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management SUBMITTED BY : Pratik Suresh Purswani Registration No. 31-2013-MALATM NALSAR ...

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THE ROLE OF ICT IN AVIATION Pratik Purswani

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SUBJECT : AIRPORT MANAGEMENT TOPIC: - THE ROLE OF ICT IN AVIATION COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES

SUBMITTED TO : Prof. Arakala Kamlakar (PhD, PMP) Professor of Airport Management, Masters in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management

SUBMITTED BY : Pratik Suresh Purswani Registration No. 31-2013-MALATM NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................ii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.........................................................iii 1. BACKGROUND OF STUDY..................................................................3 2. WHAT IS ICT?.........................................................................................4 3. NEED OF ICT..........................................................................................5 4. ROLE OF ICT IN AIRLINE INDUSTRY.............................................6 5. AREAS OF ICT USAGE.........................................................................8 6. ADVANTAGES OF ICT........................................................................12 7. DISADVANTAGES OF ICT.................................................................13 8. CONCLUSION.......................................................................................14 REFERENCES.......................................................................................15

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ICT

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

IT

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CRS

COMPUTER RESERVATION SYSTEM

ATC

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

CAA

CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY

GDS

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

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1. BACKGROUND OF STUDY : The global environment over the years has changed drastically and become highly innovative and competitive. Every field has become a race to compete and prove. And to remain in this highly competitive market, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become very vital. Today, the rate at which capacity, competition, customer expectations and the lifestyle is changing, it is very important to keep up the pace with these rising expectations and mould the working of the company in that direction. These changes have led the organizations to move to a direction which will provide a competitive edge in a very cost – effective way and embrace the usage of ICT. Today the use of ICT is not only inside the company but also outside the company as a tool for marketing and approaching customers and it also facilitates flow of information, ideas, people, products and capital. In the following paragraphs, we will study the influence of Information and Communication Technology on the performance of aviation industry and how airlines and airports adapt ICT to meet the needs of changing times and keep up with the ever growing competition.

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2. WHAT IS ICT? Information and Communications Technology or ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information The term ICT is now also used to refer to the convergence of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives (huge cost savings due to elimination of the telephone network) to merge the audio-visual, building management and telephone network with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and management [1] In simple terminology, ICT is nothing but a group of elements like Hardware, Software and People that should be working together in the process to present the benefits to the organization in the form of information, product or services and so on and includes all the technology that facilitates processing, transfer and exchange of information and communication services. It lets companies and people communicate and co-ordinate, irrespective of their physical location. What also makes ICT so advantageous is that it can provide a very powerful strategic and tactical tool in the highly competitive market by reducing cost and at the same time maximizing efficiency. Today, ICT developments have revolutionized the entire business world.

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3. NEED OF ICT : For any company to be a successful company, clear strategic goals and commitment are the pre-requisites for their development in the eCommerce department for which they need strategy and development of their websites and other various technological solutions as cited by Dr. D.Buhalis in his research on ICT. ICT helps companies develop in marketing and distribution system and has built a bridge between ICT and private sector development. Although the level of ICT utilization is different in different fields and depends a lot on local factors and availability of resources, but the statistics prove it all. As estimated, the world’s technological capacity to store, communicate, and compute information, tracking 60 analog and digital technologies during the period from 1986 to 2007. In 2007, humankind was able to store 2.9 × 1020 optimally compressed bytes, communicate almost 2 × 1021 bytes, and carry out 6.4 × 1018 instructions per second on general-purpose computers. General-purpose computing capacity grew at an annual rate of 58%. The world’s capacity for bidirectional telecommunication grew at 28% per year, closely followed by the increase in globally stored information (23%). Humankind’s capacity for unidirectional information diffusion through broadcasting channels has experienced comparatively modest annual growth (6%). Telecommunication has been dominated by digital technologies since 1990 (99.9% in digital format in 2007), and the majority of our technological memory has been in digital format since the early 2000s (94% digital in 2007).[2] For both, inter and intra organization systems, ICT’s contribute to efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. With the need to implement something, it is also necessary to ensure an enabling environment and capacity to facilitate such an application and this must be considered in case ICT. This is because companies use technology to develop and manage their business model as well as to monitor the external environment and competition, undertake revenue analysis, forecast, maintain data, predict demand and design desirable products(Buhalis).[3]

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4. THE ROLE OF ICT IN AIRLINE INDUSTRY : Every layer of airline industry is heavily filled with Information Technology. Infact, airlines were early adopters of ICT and have a history of technological innovation and because of use of this for such a long time, this industry has fostered a dependency on technology for their operational and strategic management. In aviation, airlines have realised the need of efficient, quick, inexpensive and accurate handling of their list and records and being one of the most independent organisations in travel industry, they need internet, intranet and extranets to facilitate all of this as these three features facilitates their operational, administrative and competitive roles in the market thereby bringing innovation support. With the growing technology and demand and with the increase in fleet and routes, it was realised that reservations could no longer be on manual display boards, where passengers were listed. Up to 1970, airlines had to locate the best routes and fares for the customer and publish it in a manual. They had to phone for availability, reservation and conformation before booking the tickets manually. Internet allows airlines to demonstrate their competitiveness widely as well as directly communicate with their customers. Today every airline has a website for the convenience of passengers and it has all the information necessary for a convenient travel booking. From checking tickets to booking them to planning a multi-city travel and many more options. With the help of a web portal, customers can plan or cancel with just a click and in a very secure manner ensuring that data is not being misused and neither is there any loss of money. Web check-in, additional baggage, seat preference, car – rentals and hotel bookings are few more additional benefits that make travel more comfortable. Computer Reservation System (CRS) was described as a technical marvel when it was first launched. CRS allows airlines to improve their internal organisation and also provide a powerful tool to manage their inventory. A reservation system like this also enabled airlines to communicate with travel agencies and distributors. Availability of seats and fare updates were also easy to check with the help of this. Intranets are used to provide user friendly access to employees of the organization. Airlines aim at maximising their profitability, by optimising their total yield and by minimising costs. This process is facilitated by a number of integrated systems that operate in 7

parallel to coordinate a number of critical airline functions, such as accounting, financial management, human resources, etc. In addition, specialised software facilitates scheduling in order to optimise crew, aircraft, and other resources and to maximise the operational efficiency whilst keeping costs under control.(Buhalis) Airlines also have to co-ordinate various other organisations that provide handling services at airport like maintenance, refuelling, security, baggage handling, load and dispatch, lounge provision, cabin crew and pilots, catering and cleaner services. All these things to function at the same time when one aircraft lands and to function with co-operation and coordination and to do all this in a prescribed time is in itself a well functioned machine. All this is facilitated with the help of extranet which assists them develop reliable and direct connections and enhance efficiency. Suitable extranets and inter-organisational systems are required to facilitate airline interaction with their regular suppliers. Airlines are customers of airports, air control systems, and other authorities such as immigration and customs. Airlines, therefore, regularly exchange information with airport authorities and air traffic control systems. These flows include requests for landing slots and docking gates, informing about arrivals and departures, altering slots, declaring flight paths, and coordinating operations. Handling a large amount of baggage on a daily basis between a number of airlines and airports is also very complex and all this is facilitated by extranet. This role of extranet of interaction with customs, immigration, airport, Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) is very vital and makes ICT a very important part of aviation commercial activities.

Keeping all this in mind, with the ever increasing technology and comforts, comes a big question of safety and security! Are all these systems safe? Is it reliable to share information of all the passengers to another company? Hijacking is another threat which is causing security concerns. With the increase in demand of ICT, comes a very important factor of safety to these systems and data. Since 9/11, environment around aviation industry has become very severe. Airlines have to improve convenience, on-time performance and all this in an economic manner keeping in mind the safety.

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5. AREAS OF ICT USAGE : ICT provides for study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer based information system particularly software applications and computer hardware and there are various sectors of usage of ICT in the airline industry like code sharing operations to management of crew rosters to revenue management to network planning to pricing and price distribution etc. In the current time space, mobiles are very important, and not only the calling feature, but mobile as a complete smart phone with all the features like voice calls, video calls, text messages and Instant Messaging services for communication. Along with this, Push messages, to read mails and reply to them, personal organizer (Calendar, notes, task manager) and a whole bunch of entertainment unit. This era of smart phones has let a number of airlines purchase and maintain mobile phones for staff which ensures them permanent access to information and services independent of time and place, hence interaction with colleagues and seniors is possible and handy. Technology includes products and services such as desktops, laptops, hand held devices, wired or wireless intranet, productivity software, data storage devices and security services.(Christensen)[4] Today, frequent travellers want speedier check-ins and high degree of flexibility and a control over their travel arrangements. This is provided by self-service kiosks at many points in the airport and for flexibility, there are many options to plan your travel providing many permutations and combinations. Every operator has a website for its customers to plan their travel which enables transparent and clear pricing and no hidden costs involved whatsoever. Technologies and companies like SABRE, Galileo International and Amadeus, which are Global Distribution System (GDS) have come in use as travel supermarkets to offer a wide range of tourism products, including accommodations, car-rentals and various other value added services for airlines and travel agencies to penetrate the market place. As a complete business partner, Sabre Airline Solutions provide comprehensive technology solutions that give airlines the freedom to better market their airline, sell their products, serve their customers and efficiently operate the way they want.[5]

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Not only technologies like these are used in aviation, but also airport infrastructure supports many functions critical for continuity of air transport system. Security, power, water, fuelling system and servicing of aircraft are some examples of services critical to airline operations. Today, all the airports have free Wi-Fi access to all the travellers, a number of options at the airport to shop, eat and drink. The level of commercialization has reached peak at the airports as well by clubbing of ICT in the field. Airports are also very security conscious and parking is one major factor in it as people prefer to park their car and take a flight and return the same night or maybe the next day. Airports allow you to book and pay for a parking ticket online before you leave your house and when you arrive at the car park gate, a camera takes a picture of your car and compares it with the one booked online and when confirmed issues a bar code ticket. This assures easy access at the airport and safety is also ensured. Airports also have the display system to know whether the flight is on time or the current status of it. The display is constantly updated by a database holding the current status of all flights. Once you show your identity at the entrance to the officials, next step is issuing boarding pass and the systems involved in it are also ICT developed to allocate seats as per your preference or as per one chosen by the passenger while booking the flight. Then comes Baggage handling where a computer system calculates the weight of the bag and the 10

excess amount to be paid. A luggage label will be attached to your suitcase or bag. The label has a bar code which contains your flight information. As your suitcase passes along the conveyor belt down to the baggage handling area, the barcode is scanned. This enables your suitcase to be automatically routed to the correct area for loading onto your flight. Airports also have the responsibility to check the passport of the passengers which is a very important step and also passengers are scanned for forbidden or risky objects. Today, Passports are more than a mere document where photo is checked and approved, but today they have a micro-chip in them containing biometric details of your face and a complete history of your travels. Bio-metric meaning details of your face are stored in the micro-chip and when scanned, it will scan you r face and if all the details match you will be allowed to go ahead. This is one very important technology that has come handy for safety precautions and checking at the airport. You will be asked to place all of your hand luggage, your coat, watch, belt and sometimes your shoes into a plastic container. This container will then pass through a machine that is capable of detecting suspicious items such as weapons, explosives and drugs. The machine uses a high-resolution x-ray detector and 6 colour imaging so that the operator can more easily identify objects. If the operator spots anything they think might be suspicious then the contents of your bags will be examined by security personnel.[7] These are the only systems of ICT under airport that a passenger comes across with while at the airport, but a very major and important step in ICT is the communication with the Air Traffic Control. Each controller has a screen in front of them showing the critical details of every aircraft in the air around the airport and every aircraft on the ground waiting to take off. The display is fed by a real-time computer system. The computer system has inputs from very advanced radar systems dotted around the airport that track the position of every aircraft in the air within their control area, along with automatic id signals coming from each aircraft. The air traffic controller will then talk by radio to each pilot to let them know if they have permission to land, take off or stay in the stack. All this shows that how aviation systems have evolved from using proprietary tools and designs and now use processor based hardware and common platforms for hosting software functionality. Simply stated, ICT is spreading widely across the ecosystem of aviation from designing, developing, flight operations, maintenance, communication, navigation and air transport management. All this has helped airlines and airports in many ways and has provided seamless service to the passengers. 11

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6. ADVANTAGES OF ICT : With all the above revolutions in ICT and the ever growing market and increase in tourism, there are various other advantages that ICT provides. Promotion is influenced as online and offline campaigns to increase traffic to online websites. 

Transparent and clear pricing;

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Commission capping;

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Electronic/paperless tickets;

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Consistent service along several airlines and regions;

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Access to airport lounges;

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Frequent flyer miles on member airlines;

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Baggage handling;

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Airlines have the ability to feed long haul flights;

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Improved decision making;

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Great productivity;

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Faster processing of passengers;

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Immediate available information;

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Sharing of data between different departments;

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Reduction in fraud cases;

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Social media promotions and various other discounts help attract customers;

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Passport application and checking of availability;

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