United in EFB Talks

United Airlines selected Jeppesen and Teledyne Controls for exclusive contract negotiations to provide key elements of its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) system, the airline said last week. Speaking at the Teledyne Users Conference in Los Angeles, Brian Haynes, Manager of Flight Operations Technology for the carrier, said United is conducting “Gap Workshops” on use of  Jeppesen’s electronic chart technology and Teledyne’s Class II EFB on AirNet, the airline’s EFB program, which includes weather graphic data, charts and manuals, among other information.Financial terms of the tentative deal were not disclosed. “We adopted the best practices approach to this, trying to find the best ways to do everything in the business,” Haynes said. “AirNet is a key part of the best practices philosophy on the flight ops side.” The airline is rolling out the AirNet plan in two phases, installing Class II EFBs on its domestic fleet, starting with Airbus 319/320, in the first phase and the international fleet in the second phase. Haynes said AirNet has several key financial long-term and short-term benefits, a key component to selling management on the business case. The benefits include fuel savings based on strategic weather decisions instead of tactical ones. The airline spent two years developing a comprehensive business case to sell the AirNet system to management, Haynes said.