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Almost 2 million Muslims have gathered in Saudi Arabia for Hajj – the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place this year 24-29th Nov 2009. 

Thomas Cook Airlines have been contracted by Garuda Indonesia to help transport over 114,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and fly them back home. All Thomas Cook flights are planned and dispatched from their UK Flight Ops department in Manchester using the BYTRON skybook® service that enables internet communication with flight crew. Crews can log on to receive and up-to-the-minute flight pack including weather, fuel & navigation plans, ETOPS route plots and operational notes with updates available via mobile phones such as the Apple iPhone. 

David Marks – BYTRON’s Business Development Manager said – “skybook® centralises core systems providing improvements in the information supply chain that contributes to better crew and aircraft management. A huge benefit for remote operations is that crews are briefed to exactly the same company standard, directly from Ops HQ. Nothing is lost in translation or missed in a pigeon-hole, leading to greater efficiencies and better on-time-performance.”

Pioneering British aviation data communications specialists BYTRON will celebrate a remarkable 25 years of business on 22nd November 2009. Founded by the late Richard Harris, a long-haul pilot and his wife Irene, the company initially marketed EPROM programmers to the burgeoning electronics market in the UK until Richard’s ill health and the advent of the IBM PC clone brought about a change of direction.

BYTRON’s first software, a strip printing program, caught the attention of NATS – the UK Air Traffic Service provider. This application became upgraded to a fully fledged Flight Data Management System (FDMS) in 1989. Upgraded and enhanced in line with technology and operational requirements, FDMS is still operational for NATS at Aberdeen Airport 20 years later. Ground-breaking in its day, this system set the standard for using industry standard hardware (the PC) and operating system (Unix) in the aviation environment. It was also the first computer based system in the world to successfully promulgate, transmit and receive AFTN messages. A number of other “firsts” have followed including the use of TCP/IP in 1992, and Internet delivered pilot briefing in 2001.

The company’s expertise in handling computerised Filed Flight Plans (FPL) led to Hughes Aircraft contracting the company in 1994 to provide software for the Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) part of the Peace Shield project, which was delivered 6 months and 13 days ahead of schedule.

Since those historic achievements BYTRON has continued to expand its portfolio of operational products and services to the aviation market including the unique skybook® information management and distribution service, electronic Flight Bag (eFB) and Global Situational Display. BYTRON is committed to delivering value added products relevant to the aviation market.

Co-founder and director, Irene Harris said “to celebrate 25 years within aviation IT is a major achievement in itself. It has been an exciting journey and would not have been possible without the BYTRON team; a team who have a strong track record for improving back office efficiency using industry standard technology. In an ever more challenging environment, there is still much to be done to increase operational agility and we look forward to the next 25 years."

BYTRON continues to set industry standards today with the skybook® electronic Flight Bag available on Class I and Class II devices.

Aviation data specialists, BYTRON, announce a new strategic alliance in Asia appointing Continex Tradeline (India) Pvt Ltd as their new representative in India.

Set to capitalize on BYTRON's business activities on the ground, this alliance will provide BYTRON’s customer base with a local point of contact and will specifically focus on business development in India and other Asian countries. The move will raise BYTRON's profile in India through regular visits to BYTRON’s prospective customers.

David Marks, BYTRON's Business Development Manager said; "Within the next 3 to 4 years, the Indian Aviation Industry will grow continuously and the need for substantial support in data services will increase. BYTRON is looking forward to this new relationship to help forge strong alliances with customers in India and Asia". Commenting on the appointment he observed; "Although we have been active for over 25 years, we are conscious of the requirement for on the ground support to break into the growing yet competitive Indian market. We are looking to get closer to the market's needs by having fully fledged representation."

BYTRON, the UK aviation data management specialists, today announced that it has enhanced its skybook® fuel analysis application by adding a carbon accounting function.

The Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) software tool that may be integrated with the skybook® electronic flight bag, accurately calculates and reports on the level of C02 produced by aircraft operators. Captured data can be analysed and reported on through the skybook® ground based service. The application will help aircraft operators meet the immediate demands of the European Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS). In addition, a full set of reporting tools enables operators to compare fuel consumption/emissions on same and different type aircraft and by route.

BYTRON Business Development Manager David Marks, said; "Airlines have been under pressure to meet the August 31st 2009 deadline for submitting their plans for monitoring carbon dioxide emissions and, although the deadline has been extended the requirement is still urgent. We are still aiming to have the application fully field tested by the August 31st deadline and a European airline will commence operational trials on August 1st."