JetPlanner software used for flight to Antarctica
Charter airline, Hi Fly, used Boeing’s Jeppesen JetPlanner software to complete first Airbus A340 flight to Antarctica.
Runway performance for landing an Airbus A340 on a grooved glacial blue ice runway was previously unpublished, so runway data was modeled for flight planning.- There are no published air traffic control procedures at Wolf’s Fang Runway, a private airport with uncontrolled air space. The flight planning team assumed a combination of Instrument and Visual Flight Rules (IVR/VFR) would be needed for landing.
- Accurate forecasting of winds and temperatures aloft was required in order to adjust to flying at lower altitudes south of the 60-degree parallel line.
- No refueling in Antarctica was available for this maiden flight – all fuel has to be transported by ship ahead of time, a costly prospect. JetPlanner’s tankering tools and manual calculations accounted for all fuel needed for a roundtrip flight, including a two-hour isolated aerodrome fuel policy and three hours of ground time in Antarctica.
After months of preparation and planning, Hi Fly successfully landed the first Airbus A340 in Antarctica in November 2021 and has completed 12 additional flights to the Continent since, each one uniquely planned with JetPlanner.
“It is a real testament to the value of our solution that Hi Fly did not need any customization from us to complete this journey,” said Bill Moren, Flight Planning & Dispatch Product Manager for Digital Aviation Solutions. “Hi Fly used our standard product to support their flights to and from Antarctica.”
Charter airline, Hi Fly, used Boeing’s Jeppesen JetPlanner software to complete first Airbus A340 flight to Antarctica.
- Runway performance for landing an Airbus A340 on a grooved glacial blue ice runway was previously unpublished, so runway data was modeled for flight planning.
- There are no published air traffic control procedures at Wolf’s Fang Runway, a private airport with uncontrolled air space. The flight planning team assumed a combination of Instrument and Visual Flight Rules (IVR/VFR) would be needed for landing.
- Accurate forecasting of winds and temperatures aloft was required in order to adjust to flying at lower altitudes south of the 60-degree parallel line.
- No refueling in Antarctica was available for this maiden flight – all fuel has to be transported by ship ahead of time, a costly prospect. JetPlanner’s tankering tools and manual calculations accounted for all fuel needed for a roundtrip flight, including a two-hour isolated aerodrome fuel policy and three hours of ground time in Antarctica.
After months of preparation and planning, Hi Fly successfully landed the first Airbus A340 in Antarctica in November 2021 and has completed 12 additional flights to the Continent since, each one uniquely planned with JetPlanner.
“It is a real testament to the value of our solution that Hi Fly did not need any customization from us to complete this journey,” said Bill Moren, Flight Planning & Dispatch Product Manager for Digital Aviation Solutions. “Hi Fly used our standard product to support their flights to and from Antarctica.”