"The Blue Sky Network solution is the most affordable and beneficial flight-tracking and communications product on the market today."

AeroRepublica is an international commercial airline based in Bogota, Columbia. Its majority stake holder is Copa Holdings, S.A. As Colombia's second largest air carrier with 13 aircrafts in operation, AeroRepublica needed a cost-effective way to meet government aircraft communication regulations as well as stay in touch with its pilots while they flew over remote locations, or when its planes were redirected to arrive at alternate airports. Similar to other emerging markets, many parts of South America do not currently have the existing infrastructure in place to enable this type of aircraft/ground communication link.

"The VHF equipment which was initially installed on our planes did not meet the new requirements imposed by the authorities, which entailed that we continuously track our aircraft and connect them with mission control via voice or data transmission throughout the flight," said vice president of operations at AeroRepublica, Eduardo Lombana. "We were looking for a way to both meet these requirements as well as provide dependable communications for dispatch and our pilots."

In order to effectively fulfill the new air travel regulations and maintain a constant voice/data connection with its aircraft, AeroRepublica considered several different options, two being ACARS and HF. Both of these products, however, were not only substantial financial investments but also required extensive installation both on the ground, as well as onboard the aircrafts. The third product they assessed, Blue Sky Network's D1000C satellite-based GPS tracking and communications solution, not only fully satisfied all the new requirements, but was also the most cost-effective and least troublesome hardware to set up.

"The Iridium based ACH1000/D1000C combination from Blue Sky Network was the only product that did not contain cumbersome equipment, and operated easily over a standard telephone line," said Mr. Lombana. "Cost savings are important to us, and BSN's equipment allowed us to both save money and installation time."

Blue Sky Network's D1000C was deployed on all nine of AeroRepublica's MD80 series planes. This multi-faceted solution was chosen by AeroRepublica's operations team to provide complete tracking, messaging, and voice transmission capabilities, allowing pilots to easily stay connected to ground control when far from regular means of communication, a common occurrence in parts of Colombia, Peru, Brazil or over the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, all 12 of AeroRepublica's dispatchers use Blue Sky Network's online web portal, SkyRouter, for global tracking and event management (take-off, landing, flight time and distance) of their planes, allowing them to easily pinpoint each of their airplane's locations in near real-time.

"Flight following regulations in Colombia are very similar to the U.S. We have to be able to get in touch with the crew either by voice or data communication. Now we can contact the aircraft directly if they need to deviate to alternate 1 or alternate 2 airports." said Mr. Lombana. "This not only improves safety, but also efficiency of our fleet operation."

The Blue Sky Network equipment's array of essential features also gives AeroRepublica's operations crew the power to troubleshoot aircraft maintenance issues in a much more quick and efficient manner. If any problems arise while a plane is airborne, flight crews can now call or text message the operations center in advance so problems can be addressed immediately upon arrival, saving time and hassle for ground staff.

"Prior to deployment of Blue Sky Network's D1000C, our flight crews had to call both dispatch and their destination every 15 minutes to report their location. As a result of this product's continuous satellite-based position reporting capabilities, this duty has been eliminated and our safety level and time-savings significantly improved," said Mr. Lombana. "We highly recommend Blue Sky Network's solution to other South American airlines, or all faced with the same challenge of providing communication to their aircraft in remote areas. The Blue Sky Network solution is the most affordable and beneficial flight-tracking and communications product on the market today."

Name: AeroRepublica
Fleet Size: 13
Aircraft types: MD80, Embraer 190
Location: Columbia
Equipment:

• D1000C
• ACH1000
• Single Channel Antenna

Flight Tracking:

• SkyRouter
• Google Earth

Primary Benefits:

• Regulatory Compliance
• Flight Safety
• Improved response to Maintenance Issues
• Cost Savings