QATAR AIRWAYS TAKES THE LEAD TO INTRODUCE AIRCRAFT TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
(Posted 11th January 2015)
The year 2014 has produced one of the most startling mysteries in aviation history when the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 simply disappeared, prompting searches as widespread from the China Sea to the Pacific and deep into the Indian Ocean. Available conventional flight tracking methods like civil and even military radar and airspace control appear to have failed to monitor the flight path of the aircraft, after it inexplicably turned around while enroute to China and then turned into a ghost flight never to be heard of again nor any wreckage found up to this day.
Qatar Airways, an airline with an impeccable safety record since its inception in 1993 and first flight on the 20th of January 1994, has seen rapid expansion since then and was the first to be audited by IATA in 2003 under their newly launched IOSA scheme and will probably be among the very first to undergo the new e-IOSA audit which IATA is now launching as an enhanced version of their initial safety audit.
With such a pedigree it is of little surprise that the airline is keen to maintain their 100 percent safety record and in the aftermath of the MH370 disappearance has Qatar Airlines gone ahead to start pioneer and develop systems which can eventually be adopted by the aviation industry as a whole.
Among the objectives of their initiative is ‘constant streaming of data’ from the aircraft to their operations centre at the new Hamad International Airport. This will include the transmission of data which are presently only recorded on the ‘black boxes’, aka flight data and cockpit voice recorders. In addition is Qatar Airways, according to comments made by the airline’s CEO Akbar Al Baker earlier in the week in Doha, also working on a system to continuously track the location of the aircraft, independent from any controls administered by the cockpit crew which would make it as tamperproof as is presently possible. Once operational will such a new system allow the airline to know exactly the position of each of their planes in the air, constantly updated to the moment of landing.
IATA already has a task force in place to develop recommendations vis a vis new technology and Mr. Al Baker, being a member of the IATA Board, is no doubt in pole position to push for accelerated adoption of new technological standards across the industry.
When asked during the A350XWB launch press conference in Doha earlier in the week did he mention that the airline’s in-house training centre was a key to train and prepare their crews for all eventualities so that they know how to ‘avoid getting into trouble’.
Now just over 18 years on the job has Al Baker, who enjoys the reputation of being a maverick among the CEO’s of the world’s leading airlines, often upset manufacturers and supplies by calling a spade a spade, including such notable quotes when he told Airbus a few years ago they needed to learn how to build aircraft or when he called the European Union’s emission control scheme ‘bullshit’, hitting the bulls eye and no doubt expressing the sentiments of the entire aviation fraternity. Apart from such headline making quotes however has he led Qatar Airways into the top tier of global carriers and been a relentless advocate for extraordinary service levels but also for flight safety and the introduction of new technology to accomplish that. With some 340 aircraft on order now, including 79 remaining Airbus A350XWB’s and 100 of the still to be developed B777X, orders worth over 70 billion US Dollars, is the airline now flying to 145 destinations around the world. Notably does the Qatar Airways Group include not just the airline itself, but also the brand new Hamad International Airport in Doha where it shows that it was built by an airline for airlines. This is an assessment following a recent experience when travelling to Doha and having a chance to see some of the airport’s special features at HIA, which will in coming years no doubt bag award after award. Ground handling and catering services besides Qatar Executive, the private jet division of the airline, complete the activities of the Qatar Airways Group.
