Virgin chooses Amadeus system to manage aircraft load control processes

Virgin Australia will manage its aircraft load control processes using a flight management system from airline IT company Amadeus as part of a new partnership between the pair.

While Virgin will maintain its use of Sabre for its passenger service system (PSS), the airline has chosen the Amadeus Altea Departure Control Flight Management (Altea DC-FM) system as a standalone product for its aircraft load control processes.

As a result, Amadeus and Virgin planned to build an interface to integrate the Altea DC-FM system with its Sabre platform.

“Virgin Australia is pleased to work with Amadeus to implement their flight management application,” Virgin Australia general manager of network operations Andrew Lillyman said.

“Achieving optimal aircraft load distribution is key to safety of flight, improving fuel efficiency, optimising cargo and increasing productivity.”

Virgin is the first airline to choose the product as a standalone solution, Amadeus said in a statement.

“Working with Virgin Australia to implement Altea Departure Control Flight Management as a standalone solution to their existing PSS is a huge milestone for us,” Amadeus Asia Pacific, executive vice president, airline commercial Hazem Hussein said in a statement.

“This opens the doors to any carrier who is looking for a best-in-class weight and balance solution without wanting to go through a full migration to a new passenger service system, allowing them to adopt a best-of-breed strategy to empower their PSS.”

Amadeus said the Altea DC-FM system, currently used by more than 90 airlines and ground handlers, helped airlines analyse passenger and cargo loads and optimise aircraft load distribution.

Moreover, the system improved the productivity of load controllers and enabled airlines to centralise load control operations, the company said.

“This means load controllers can safely handle many flights simultaneously through a single, intuitive, graphical interface, without having to switch between different systems,” Amadeus said.

“The solution helps airlines analyse passenger and cargo load more precisely, and optimises aircraft load distribution. This enables airlines to more accurately forecast the fuel needed for every flight departure.”