World Fuel | Colt Trip Support and IBM announce flight planning iPad app with new weather map technology

World Fuel Services (World Fuel) announced the testing of their new integrated iPad application. After nine months of development, the project is now coming to fruition and has entered the final stages of the first release. The target time-frame for the general release is set for the fourth quarter of 2017. The app is the initial release of a strategic rollout with future developments.

Future releases of the app are expected to rollout over the course of the year for both iPad and Web applications. World Fuel continues to invest in creating a seamless experience for its customers. This iOS effort is the first step in consolidating trip support and fuel applications into a single environment for all users, where any World Fuel product or service can be requested. World Fuel aims to solve the limitations of options available to flight departments with this solution and service the full trip lifecycle through a unified experience.

World Fuel partnered with IBM to develop a modern user interface (UI) using IBM’s Design Thinking Process and Interactive Experience. This project has a unique design approach that is heavily dependent on continual pilot input regarding the app’s UI and functionality. The shared development process is key in providing app capabilities that enable “self-service” across the flight planning process for an unmatched user experience. This app is being developed with the full flight department in mind, however, not just operating pilots.

World Fuel has assembled a team of leading companies to assist in the technical development based on its existing Online Flight Planning platform. The app integrates The Weather Company’s leading vector content as well as Seattle Avionics’ charts and procedures. Other contributors include: Aircraft Performance Group, NavBlue, Mapbox, SkyVector, PDFTron, and AVfinity.

“We have been serving the business aviation industry for a long time, and we saw a gap in the current solutions for global flight departments,” says Jeff Briand, Vice President, Global Trip Support. “For some trips, customers want to do it themselves, but they have to traverse numerous sites and are concerned about having no backup. Fully-managed trips lack flexibility and transparency. Between the two, they end up with data in multiple places. Flight departments want something that blends self-service and full-service options into a single option, unifies the different applications, and everyone can see what is going on, not just pilots.”

The iOS app will include many innovative features like profile weather view and dynamic journey log embedded into an electronic flight bag, and it covers the complete life cycle of the trip including a disconnected mode for use in the cockpit. World Fuel’ customers will be provided free access to full planning information – weather, airport, country, permit requirements, and many other key trip data sources.