MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 1, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Flight Explorer (FE), a global flight tracking and IT solutions provider to the aviation community, today announced that the company has entered into a teaming agreement with Metron Aviation to integrate Metron's Enhanced Substitution Module (ESM) product into Flight Explorer's FE Professional(tm) Aircraft Situation Display (ASD). Under the terms of the agreement, Flight Explorer will also serve as a Value-Added-Reseller (VAR) of Metron's ESM product to its global customer base of commercial and business aviation carriers.
ESM is an automated flight substitution aid for air carriers and is an optional add-on component to Metron's Flight Schedule Monitor (FSM). FSM was developed for the FAA by Metron and provides the FAA, NavCanada, and Collaborative Decision Making (CDM)-participating air carriers with the capability to monitor airport capacity/demand balance, model traffic flow management initiatives, and evaluate alternative approaches. It provides resource alerts, delay previews, and other tools to assist a user in strategically canceling and substituting flights that are controlled by Air Traffic Control (ATC) regulations. The primary benefit of ESM is reduction of ATC delay for an air carrier's flights, which translates directly into cost savings for the carrier. Daily savings for a hub carrier at a single regulated airport can easily reach dozens of hours and many thousands of dollars. ESM is also used as an analysis tool to reenact historical scenarios to evaluate lessons learned and benefit future substitutions.
"As the commercial and business aviation community continues to struggle with delays caused by the increasing air traffic congestion and weather events, providing our customers easy access to enhanced traffic management tools like ESM really increases their ability to reduce delays and improve overall operational performance," said Flight Explorer CEO Jim Kelly. "We look forward to working with an industry leader like Metron to make the benefits of these CDM tools available to many in the aviation community who previously did not fully utilize or have access to these tools."
FE Professional is the industry's most accurate, reliable and widely-used ASD. The system goes beyond "flight tracking" by incorporating multiple data feeds, dynamic weather overlays, situational alerts and predictive weather and air traffic tools to make FE Professional an essential flight operations management tool.
"The Flight Explorer ASD is the industry leader in its market space," said Metron Aviation CEO Jack Kies. "Coupling the Metron tools with the powerful feature set available in Flight Explorer will really provide air carriers a single and complete portal into the National Airspace System where they can make quicker and proactive decisions on how to successfully navigate through any air traffic management initiatives that may be issued for a given day."
By integrating ESM with Flight Explorer, air carriers will also be able to receive real-time proactive alerts in the ASD application if their flights may be impacted by an Airspace Flow Program (AFP) or Ground Delay Program (GDP) so that they can then utilize the ESM tool to effectively manage their fleets and reduce delay minutes and the associated costs. The fully integrated solution is scheduled for launch in the 1st Quarter of 2008.
About Flight Explorer
Flight Explorer is a global flight tracking, information technology and communications solutions provider to the commercial and business aviation community. The company provides these solutions to over 800 corporate clients, including over 85 percent of the North American major airlines and 22 of the top 30 regional airlines. Additionally, consumers and aviation enthusiasts can enhance their travel experience with Flight Explorer's free online flight tracking and airport information tools. For more information please visit www.flightexplorer.com.
About Metron Aviation
Metron Aviation, located in the Dulles technology corridor in Northern Virginia, fuses the principles of science and mathematics with unparalleled domain knowledge to provide dynamic and innovative solutions to airspace constraints in the advancement of Traffic Flow Management concepts. The company works in conjunction with FAA, airlines, NASA, academia, and private industry to ensure modernization of the National Airspace System accommodates increased demand while balancing the need for customers to be informed and safe. Building upon this experience, Metron Aviation has developed a heightened awareness for aviation initiatives and detailed understanding of airspace constraints to address challenges faced by Air Traffic Management. Motivated by service to the flying public, Metron Aviation provides system solutions for Air Traffic Management and the Aviation Community including System Operations, Software Development, Analysis, and Research & Development services. For more information please visit www.metronaviation.com.