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Vinson Kurian

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Thiruvananthapuram Feb. 7 IBS Software is working on an integrated `compliance management system' for global aviation regulators and operators. The travel, transportation and logistics (TTL) major has been conducting studies for over the last 16 months in coordination with safety auditors and also one of the civil aviation authorities abroad, Mr V.K. Mathews, Chairman and Managing Director, IBS Group, said.

Regulatory bodies such as the US FAA (Federal Aviation Administration); the Australian CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority); and operators such as airlines, airports, flying clubs and aircraft manufacturers are being counted among likely clients.

IATA MANDATE

It may be recalled that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has already come out with a circular mandating all members to contract to have an operational safety audit done by December 2007. Defaulting members will count themselves out of the body, it has warned. Administration of aviation compliance today is very much a manual process and, therefore, intensely paper-driven, Mr Mathews said. It is a laborious process for both regulators and operators to ensure and evidence compliance, and, therefore, the opportunity for improving the processes through automation.

It is envisaged that both regulators and operators will significantly benefit by the use of an automated system, and therefore a clear business case for developing and implementing such a system. The enormous amount of data that is filed by operators for evidencing compliance is not at all leveraged for business benefit, for e.g. to improve resource utilisation for maximising aircraft and crew utilisation.

NO TECH DIVIDE

Mr Mathews did not agree with the observation that there is a growing technology divide between airlines that threatens to fragment the industry into `have' and `have-nots — those which can afford the technology and those which can't.

"I don't think there is really a `tech divide' or technology driven split. It is actually the difference in the `business model' pursued; low-cost carriers try to reduce their costs by simplifying the business processes, driving up operational efficiencies."

However, as competition increases between and among the low-cost airlines, each will have to differentiate from the rest, and for this, they will have to provide special and innovative services, and thus their processes will become progressively complex. To keep the customers insulated from such process complexities, they will have to use very sophisticated computer systems.

Low-cost airlines should mean `new generation airlines' which can reduce price by reducing costs or deliver true value to the passenger. In the long run, they would need very sophisticated computer systems to achieve this. IBS Soft will be in the forefront offering such systems.

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