Boeing announced Sept. 6 that Qantas will be the launch customer for the Boeing Onboard Performance Tool for iPad.
The Onboard Performance Tool gives pilots the ideal speeds and engine settings for any aircraft, in any weather, on any runway. It helps to create vast gains in efficiency, range and payload. This marks the first time the OPT application has run on iPad. The Australian carrier will deploy the OPT for iPad on 130 of its Boeing airplanes in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The mobile OPT may be used as a standalone solution or as backup to Class 2 or 3 Electronic Flight Bag applications. An Electronic Flight Bag replaces the pilot’s traditional, heavy flight bag with a light hardware and software package that calculates performance, displays charts, improves taxi positional awareness, provides video flight deck entry surveillance and allows electronic access to documents. Use of an EFB improves flight data accuracy, ground reports and paper handling and storage costs. The original OPT application for EFB solutions has been available since early 2000 and has more than 120 customers.
“The mobile OPT is the latest of our industry-leading airplane applications, part of our Digital Airline solutions suite. It was developed to give our customers a marketplace advantage as they serve their customers and run the most efficient operations possible,” said Per Noren, vice president of Information Services, Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. “Boeing has a unique portfolio of digital solutions and we’re rapidly expanding it, making use of our existing and new, innovative technologies.”
Captain David Oliver, head of Flight Technical for Qantas, notes, “The Boeing mobile OPT is very well aligned with our flight deck mobile strategy. We especially appreciate the OPT’s remarkable flexibility, which allows us to define unique policies and configurations to suit our needs.”
Since the initial offering in mid-July, more than 80 airlines have requested quotes or more information about OPT for iPad.
“We have been very successful in the marketplace with our existing OPT application, but our customers told us they wanted a version for iPad. When they talk, we listen, because we want to give them the competitive advantage they need to be successful every day,” said John Maggiore, director of Airline Performance Management, Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. “That’s all part of the Boeing Edge.”
Boeing is continuously innovating and transforming a number of its existing and new applications to be deployed via mobile devices, in addition to developing entirely new applications.
