World Fuel Launches New Flight Plan App

World Fuel Services (WFS) has announced a new integrated flight planning application for the iPad. Developed by IBM over the past nine months—with input from the Weather Company, Seattle Avionics, Aircraft Performance Group, NavBlue, Mapbox, SkyVector, PDFTron and AVfinity—the web portal is now in the final stages of testing, with general release scheduled  for this fall.

The iOS app will include features such as profile weather mapping and a journey log embedded into an EFB. It will cover the full span of the trip, including a disconnected mode for in-cockpit use. For WFS customers, it will provide free access to full planning information such as airport, country and permit requirements, allowing them to drill down to the areas they need. It will also include a news channel, providing up-to-date information on key topics.

“We have been serving the business aviation industry for a long time, and we saw a gap in the current solutions for global flight departments,” said Jeff Briand, the company’s vice president of global trip support. “For some trips, customers want to do it themselves, but they have to traverse numerous sites and are concerned about having no backup.” He added that fully managed trips lack flexibility and transparency. “Flight departments want something that blends self-service and full-service options into a single option, unifies the different applications and [enables everyone to] see what is going on, not just pilots," Briand noted.