German-based company INFORM’s turnaround management system, GS (GroundStar) HubControl, has proven to be a successful solution. In use at four major hubs internationally, GS HubControl helped the first airline implementing it to achieve over 40% improvement in turnaround performance.
The system is the common solution for all actors of a HCC or ACC with an agreed A-CDM process flow. GS HubControl monitors and guides the progress of each turnaround handling process in real-time from planning through execution while at the same time suggesting possible delay codes based on observed root causes.
The system advises, via consistently calculated and updated target off-block time (TOBT), on how much time outbound flights would be delayed unless corrective action is taken.
Monitoring the air-to-air progress of each flight according to EUROCONTROL’s 16 A-CDM milestones – from filing the flight plan at the previous airport to the actual take-off time at the current one – the solution aids the NASP’s planning process by applying the decision support of an integrated pre-departure sequencer powered by ATRiCS. Two German airports are currently implementing this functionality, while the pre-departure manager module is already in place at Germany’s largest hub.
GS HubControl’s cost model enables the system to advise the airline of the exact revenue of its in or outbound flight at any given time. The revenue inherently reflects the number of transfer passengers aboard. This way, the airline can easily define its turnaround priorities. GS HubControl’s joint what-if enhancement supports the airline in indicating to ATC its preferences of sequencing its flight departures in a favoured manner.
“GS HubControl puts this real-time and predictive information at the HCC / ACC managers’ fingertips. The result is a reduction in delay costs, reduction of the ripple effects on the airline’s systems and in the airspace congestion as well as improved interaction between all parties involved,” concludes Gero Hoppe, INFORM solution manager, HubControl and A-CDM.