The Swedish Start-Up company Cloudbase AB announces the release of their new generation flight scheduling software at EBACE 2012 in Geneva. The system targets small to mid-sized Business Aviation Operators and has been praised for its modern approach and ability to improve efficiency in operations planning.

-          With Cloudbase in place, we have been able to expand our business by more than 40% without increasing our operations department staff, says Magnus Henriksson, Flight Operations Manager at WaltAir. The system opened completely new possibilities for us. It’s easier to share work, and our pilots are better informed and involved in the planning process of their upcoming flights. It has resulted in a higher, more even quality of service to our customers.

Cloudbase offers a modern approach to flight scheduling that is simple to use and focuses on the main work patterns of the operators.

-          I am a pilot, says CEO and Co-Founder Robin Kahlbom , and I have been flying for years and planning flights, of all sizes, all over the world. I know about the problems that occur when organizing business aviation flights. Together with the best programmers we made Cloudbase as a solution to those problems. We are proud to introduce Cloudbase to the business aviation market at EBACE.

Cloudbase runs on any computer with an internet connection. Cloudbase is an online tool with a monthly fee, with no-installation or update charges. Cloudbase will be exhibiting at EBACE 2012 with their software in Booth #2205.

-          Over the last year we have been evaluated and tested by several operators, which have all been impressed by the simplicity and efficiency our system brought to their operations planning, says Fredik Jonsson, CTO at Cloudbase AB. The business aviation industry is ready to move online to this new generation planning tool.

Well, this is something that they didn’t teach at the flight academy =)

Continue striving for minimum drag out there.

Do you have problems finding good aeronautical information when flying into Europe? Then here are 3 free online tools that will help you out.

NOTAM and AIP

European AIS Database – EAD is a free database with quality-assured aeronautical information such as European AIP’s and NOTAM. Free online sign up.

TAF and METAR

Global TAF / METAR Search (UK Metoffice) Is a free online subscription for finding Worldwide TAF and METAR online. If this is not included in your flight planning software, or not everyone has access to that one, this is a solution.

Flight Monitoring in Eurocontrol Zone

Eurocontrol CFMU NOP Portal is a free online service for operators which can be used for flight following in Europe. This software gives you plenty of information about Flights, Airport traffic, CTOT areas and much more. Each operator can have two free logins.

Every day, thousands of private jets and props depart and arrive on airports around the world. On most of these airports, we rely on handlers and FBO’s to take care of our customers. We all know that it doesn’t matter how good the flight was if the transportation didn’t show up when we arrive to the airport, the catering wasn’t delivered on time, or we got stuck in security due to missing information.

After some years in business aviation industry I have heard and seen different ways of working when it comes to communicating with FBOs and Handling Agents. I have had the opportunity to see how it works both from the dispatch desk and on the spot flying into these places. Here are some of my best practices.

1) Provide enough flight information
In order for the handlers to do a good job, they need to know some things about you and your flight. Some people prefer calling, but I always recommend sending an Handling Request as well, just to avoid misunderstandings. Honestly, If it’s not an urgent flight or I have some special questions, I handle most of my communication over e-mail. In the end It’s quicker, and I can more easily track the work history.

Make sure to provide:

- Flight Schedule, date and time of arrival and departure
- Airport arriving from and departing to
- Aircraft registration, maximum take-off weight, operator name
- Clear specification of services required.
- Contact details to dispatch or person in charge.
- Crew details
- Amount of passengers (consider when to give passenger names / details).

When it comes to providing passenger names there’s a fine line between keeping confidentiality and providing enough information to the FBO or Handler to do a good job. Think about; Is customs required, what details need to be provided in that case? When the passenger shows up in the FBO, how will he or she let the handler know which flight they are on? Same goes for passenger transport. The last thing you want is one of your passengers boarding the wrong aircraft. You might not believe me when I say that I have met crew that had their passengers departing with another aircraft, not realizing that they where onboard the wrong one before they already where airborne!

2) Be clear about your intentions.

Tell them how long you’re going to stay. If you don’t know, open a discussion with the handler. Then they can plan their parking space accordingly.

3) Get a written confirmation.

 In order to be sure that both you and your handling agent are working on the same information, make sure to receive a written confirmation stating at least the time of arrival and departure and that they have understood what services you require. If you don’t receive one, call and ask for it. I good idea might be to send the crew a copy, so they know what info that the handling agent has received. Make have the location of the FBO confirmed and hand over it to the passenger and/or transportation company.

4) Keep them in the loop.

Communication is essential for a good flight coordination. Let the handling agent know if your flight is delayed or departed early. Movement messages are good, but a phone call will just do as well. In that way the handling agent can plan for your arrival, making sure someone is there to meet your crew and passengers when they arrive. Sending movement messages in Europe is good, most of the time you will then receive a movement message back when your aircraft departs.

If the flight is cancelled, don’t forget to tell them about it!

5) Establish relationships.

Remember that these people are there to help you. Give them feedback, telling them not only when something goes wrong, but when something goes well! A handler or FBO is a great resource of local knowledge, value that. After the flight, ask the crew how their experience was and learn what you can do the next time.

6) Store information after the planning is done.

It might be a long time until you fly to the airport the next time. Keeping records of earlier experiences and contact details saves a lot of time when planning a flight to the destination the next time.

Finally I want to thank Henry “Duke” LeDuc – Texas Instruments, Mariejosee Bigras – Skyservice Business Aviation, Inc and Jim Davis – Pentastar Aviation, VanNuys for giving me inspiration to write this post after the S&D conference in San Diego.

We make simple tools for complex tasks. It’s easy to pack a software full of features that do an awful lot of things. Some things becomes useful once in a year, if even ever. If you as a software developer is not careful, these things take overhand and makes the software slow and difficult to understand.

We know that when you are dealing with new customer requests, schedule changes, re-planning of flights, cancellations of handling and services – it’s sometimes a quite demanding challenge. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a slow flight management software which one cannot understand how to use. Now, that is where we come in.

We focus on making these things easier by creating and proving simple tools. Tools that are fast to use, easy to understand and gets the job done. We try to be as simple as possible, but not so simple that things are done incorrectly.

If you like our concept, Like us on Facebook and we will let you know when we have more news! Our twitter feeds and blog will also give you more information soon, so stay tuned.

I hope that we will stay in touch.

Robin