Flight crews, please do turn on your electronic devices

A PARADOX exists in air travel, in my opinion. An airplane is one of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced marvels allowing mankind to take flight each day. Yet, a large part of our flight experience remains predominantly paper-based - we are still relying mostly on paper boarding passes, paper luggage tags and paper documentation (though there is a growing use of e-tickets and mobile tickets).

The heavy reliance on paper is not environmentally sustainable, nor sustainable for the business in the long run. For digital transformation to truly take flight, an overhaul of the paper-based and manual processes is needed for a smoother journey.

A clear example is the use of electronic flight bags (EFB) versus traditional paper-based bags. Some airline pilots are still lugging hefty bags filled with charts, manuals, checklists, licences, regulations, and other paraphernalia every time they fly. Putting things in perspective, each paper-based flight bag weighs a hefty 75 kilograms on average - equivalent to an extra passenger on the flight!

Not only are the bags extremely cumbersome for the pilots to carry around, airlines need to print and bind the documents manually every time there is a minor revision or discrepancy to comply with the strict regulations from government authorities, plane and engine manufacturers and airline regulatory bodies. For Philippine Airlines, the constant printing and reprinting alone, not including distribution and management, is a significant operating cost. The airline estimates that it used to consume 2,600 reams of paper (1.3 million sheets in total) every year on average, not including the litres of ink that goes on each page.

To further its digital transformation journey, Philippine Airlines decided to transit to an EFB model where all the information needed for a flight is housed within a mobile device. This means pilots can find the relevant flight information much more readily, and download the latest thousand-page manual with just a few clicks. The airline can also easily push electronic real-time notifications and updates without having to chase down the flight crews and hand them the latest iteration of a document.

It's not all just about dollars and cents. Philippine Airlines' decision to move to an EFB was also done to better ensure the safety of all passengers. The traditional flight bags, although very heavy, can be misplaced or stolen. This could either result in a grave security threat at the worst, or delay flights significantly until the bag is secured.

Philippine Airlines used to face an average of two flights delayed or cancelled each month before the transition. By deploying an EFB solution across 1,300 devices, the airline is able to remotely wipe critical data and lock or quarantine any compromised devices, ensuring the security of all passengers and reduce flight delays.

Sri Lankan Airlines is also another aviation player which understood that revamping IT impacts the business positively with better customer service. The airline's workforce previously had to deal with outdated desktop computers and a disparate range of different device models, which cost the company substantial losses in mobility, productivity and quality customer service. Processes were time-consuming, labour intensive, inconsistent and inaccurate.

By virtualising its legacy IT infrastructure, Sri Lankan Airlines' employees can now work and collaborate anywhere, anytime and from any device. Staff were untethered from static workstations and able to attend to customer needs better and on-the-go. Apart from increasing productivity dramatically, the airline has also strengthened the security of its IT infrastructure and data. The blend of consumer simplicity and enterprise-grade security means valuable resources are freed to focus on what matters to the business - customers.

Indeed, there is tailwind for the aviation industry to ride on in the digital transformation journey. Mobility is an accelerator that can unleash more benefits - by empowering access to work-related information that employees need from wherever they are, regardless of the device they are using.