Etihad bolsters flight safety with SITAONAIR’s eWAS Weather Awareness Solution

Etihas Airways made the choice to deploy SITAONAIR’s EFB Weather Awareness Solution, eWAS, to bolster flight safety across more than 100 aircraft.

Ahead of its official launch on 6 April 2019, the eWAS solution was trialed by a select group of Etihad pilots throughout 2018 with extremely positive results, cementing its undeniable business and safety benefits for airlines, pilots and flight operations alike. More than 18,000 pilots across multiple carriers have now trialed the solution globally.

SITAONAIR’s eWAS – developed in partnership with GTD – is a user-friendly, cloud-hosted application that significantly improves situational awareness and reduces many of the costs associated with weather avoidance. It allows pilots to study areas of turbulence along their flightpaths, preparing them for alternative routing well in advance.

“The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority,” said Captain Guy Farnfield, Etihad’s Head of Flight Operations Support. “The advanced communications connectivity on modern aircraft significantly improves the quality of data available to pilots, and the real-time information provided by SITAONAIR enhances their ability to anticipate, safely navigate or avoid major weather fronts. This system is delivering safety and efficiency benefits to Etihad, and improving the experience of our guests and our crews.”

Not only does eWAS support safer flight plan routes, but it also enables more economical, intelligent and flexible operations by providing greater situational awareness of significant weather threats. The solution integrates with all leading flight planning vendors, is fully scalable and requires almost no new airline IT infrastructure. Available on either iOS or Windows, eWAS is fully compatible with most major mobile and tablet devices. With its highly efficient compressed data, eWAS can be easily updated over Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G on the ground, and over a cabin or cockpit broadband link in-flight.

Stephan Egli, Commercial VP Europe, Middle East & Africa, SITAONAIR, adds: “Globally we have seen a huge shift towards bringing greater value and efficiency to airline operations in recent years. Airlines such as Etihad want to unlock their connected aircraft value and, most importantly, improve safety. As an aviation industry game-changer in the field of intelligent weather avoidance technology, eWAS is the perfect tool to enable Etihad’s ambitions. eWAS is used in production by over 10,000 pilots at multiple airlines. We believe that by embracing the age of digital transformation, we will support Etihad’s focus on bolstering safety in the skies, as well as operational efficiency.”