SWIFT 64AIRLINES

Swift64 for Airlines
Swift64 is scheduled to be available to the airlines by the end of 2002. With its ability to share a single channel among a number of simultaneous data users aboard the aircraft, it will be highly effective in meeting the needs of passengers and cabin and flight deck crew.
Passengers
With its 64kbit/s maximum data rate, Swift64 is faster than the link into most homes and comparable in speed with those into many offices.

Passengers are expected to use it like an
office in the sky for:

E-mail

Access to the Web through web cache updates and corporate networks
Transfer of large files (audio, still and video images)
E-commerce transactions.
Cabin crew
Timely transmission of "housekeeping" information to and from the cabin contributes significantly
to an efficient and cost-effective airline operation. Swift64 will be available to cabin crew for
a variety of uses:

Crew access to e-mail

Updating of in-flight entertainment content and Web pages cached for passenger access
on the aircraft local-area network

Transmission to airline ground systems of information on cabin consumables, crew duty
times, and passenger data and survey results

Reception of destination information, including gate numbers for connecting flights

Delay management, including booking of passenger accommodation

Flight crew
Satellite communications already play an important part in the operation of airliners on a number
of long-haul routes. For instance, direct data link communications between pilots and air traffic
controllers allow oceanic flights to be re-routed to avoid weather delays and excessive fuel burn.

With its added speed and flexibility, Swift64 will bring efficiency-boosting new services
to the flight deck:

Operational e-mail

Fligh tplan and electronic documentation updates

Graphical weather information

Engine monitoring and fault reporting