DTP goes with the flow

Dubai Technology Partners (DTP), a leading GCC aviation systems integrator, could have two big announcements coming up in the near future. Barbara Saunders reports.

Established in 2004 in Dubai, DTP is a system integrator with a broad portfolio of solutions and services designed to support the aviation industry.
The company says it is on the verge of signing a significant contract for a flow management system with a major Gulf aviation hub. The contract will be operated in partnership with the Swiss person-tracking technology provider, Xovis.
DTP also anticipates making a major announcement by the end of this year for its new flight performance monitoring (FPM) solution, which provides real-time data and a holistic view of airport operations and flight-related processes, coupled with robust forecasting and decision support tools to improve on-time-performance (OTP).
Version one of the new FPM suite, according to MD Abdul Razzak Mikati, is winning substantial airline interest due to its OTP benefits and cost-saving abilities.
“One of the most critical challenges facing airlines and airports, not only in the region but also across the world, is meeting OTP,” said Mikati. “According to one estimate, it costs airlines as much as $70 for each minute a flight is delayed and this is before you factor in potential loss of business due to any drop in customer satisfaction. The challenge of improving OTP has been further complicated in recent years with the on-going migration of traffic to low-cost carriers. This has increased demand for 30-minute turnarounds, and combined with the introduction of larger aircraft like the A380 and 747-8, has caused increased ramp congestion and driven the need for more effective ground-asset utilisation.”
Airlines have a choice when managing turnarounds, continued Mikati. “They can continue to be reactive and tackle issues as they arise, or they can direct those efforts and resources to prevention and mitigation to ensure a smooth turnaround process.”
FPM utilises flight schedules, a highly configurable rules engine, and process tracking to provide operators with an overview of the current status of the flight and drills down to details of turnaround processes. Its precision time schedule (PTS) event-tracking mechanism re-evaluates and updates, in real time, the task status every time an above or under-the-wing activity takes place.
“Using FPM makes it possible to share all relevant flight airport collaborative decision-making milestones, towing status, check-in, baggage details, etc, among the various concerned stakeholders,” said Mikati. “It immediately flags any delay of a task that might affect other tasks and, based on the latest information, calculates the new target off-block time, which alerts the air and ground operations coordinators to take immediate proactive action to ensure on-time departure or minimise delay.”
DTP has prioritised its target segments as airlines, ground-handlers and airports. “We have been presenting the solution to multiple potential customers and have strong interest from airlines. We are looking to announce our launch customer at the Dubai Airshow and it will be a major Gulf carrier,” said Mikati.
The financial headwinds currently buffeting Gulf carriers could, said Mikati, deliver a windfall for the system which, he claimed, can lower airline costs and “deliver return on investment in a very short time span. It really helps them.”
Though the company is planning to initially focus sales of the made-in-the-UAE solution, which was developed in conjunction with DTP’s partner, SAP, in the Middle East and North Africa, Mikati said it is already “planting seeds in Europe, presenting to some initial partners over there”.
He explained: “The current plan is to target the smaller carriers over there, not with the full suite, but with a mobile app we have created for boarding system management, which is a holistic system that would provide them with a single data source.”