Streamlining takeoff with easyJet

Yes, electronic paper is perfect for outdoor signage and digital menu boards. But do you know that is holds its own in the aviation industry as well?

The airline carrier easyJet wanted to see if its paper burden could be lightened and decided to test out electronic paper solutions.

Have you ever given any thought to what it takes to get a plane off the ground? While the Wright brothers would be amazed to witness the well-oiled machine behind making a plane airborne, they would be even more amazed at the endless checklists and dead weight in paper that comes with making sure a plane is fully operational. The airline carrier easyJet wanted to see if this paper burden could somehow be lightened and decided to test out how electronic paper solutions could help.

Why not make things simpler?

We live in a world of technological one-stop shop solutions, where all our gadgets and services seem to be forever rolling into a single operation-friendly solution: your smartphone is now your remote, camera and your tour guide all at once, and your email account has long since stopped being just a vehicle for your mom to send you pictures of funny cats.

Technology is evolving and giving us a helping hand at life, simplifying and uniting the once complicated ways of accomplishing different tasks and saving us precious time – not to mention in all likelihood some money also.

Optimizing the business process

And because what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander, why shouldn’t such service optimization apply to companies as well? As the world around us changes to make what we have to get done easier, it is only logical businesses also embrace this operation evolution, simplifying and improving the way things are being done through innovative technology.

In the aviation industry, this technology has started to replace the old-school paper information of the cockpit, replacing operating manuals and sectional maps with the so-called ‘electronic flight bag’, electronic information management devices that helps flight crews perform flight management tasks more easily and efficiently.

If chosen wisely, these solutions are not only efficient, but can also end up saving quite a bit of money for the lucky enterprise.

And that’s exactly what easyJet managed by turning to innovative electronic paper solutions (and because we’ve had quite some practice with new and exciting ways of using e-paper we can appreciate just how great this idea was).

No need for extra luggage

The carrier easyJet prides itself in being the top provider of low-cost airfare on over 600 domestic and international routes. Which means there sure are a lot of easyJet planes out there.

Just like with any other airline, each of these planes must go through a vigorous list of checks and security protocols before it is allowed to embark on a flight and must carry on board certain manuals and handbooks necessary for the operation of the plane. Now, if every one of these obligatory handbooks was on the heavier side and if every little detail about readying the plane for a flight was jotted down on paper and this paper saved on board, and then forwarded to command and entered into a log, and and so on and so on, this would result in some spectacular logistical gymnastics and some significant excess baggage in paper weight.

This naturally was not sitting well with easyJet, a company that prides itself in its efficient and quick turnaround times, meaning that they get planes checked, refuelled and boarded as quickly as possible, while also staying green and keeping waste to a minimum (you see, there IS a good reason to use a boarding pass).
Flying on the wings of electronic paper

EasyJet wanted to figure out what exactly could be done to improve what the paper form and manual jumble was missing – a way to make the necessary pre-takeoff tasks simpler, more transparent and streamlined, while also making them cheaper and keeping them environmentally-friendly.

The pre-takeoff checklist on electronic paper.

KEEPING THINGS EFFICIENT

The carrier developed a solution to transfer the obligatory manuals and checklists to a digital form, and decided to test electronic paper on V Tablet display units as the technology that would make it come to life, knowing its extreme battery life, always on connectivity and low energy consumption, as well as its high readability, no matter the light conditions.

The carrier developed a solution to transfer the obligatory manuals and checklists to V Tablet display units.

Besides, the conditions aboard and around a plane are not like those of your comfy living room: not just any technology will do. The rough and tumble environment of an airplane and extreme weather conditions of the airports of the world require a solution that is robust and durable, yet still responsive enough to do the job.

Electronic paper is a great candidate for the airport; due to its clever design and simple operation it has the potential to save quite a bit of hassle and time: the technology is easy to keep up to date and this improves efficiency, winning one over bulky manuals and paper forms.

Using the Visionect e-paper tablet on board.

EASY JET IS NOT JUST ORANGE – IT’S GREEN ALSO!

And we haven’t even told you the best part: the airline carrier electronic paper tablet is just like actual paper, only lighter. Quite some pounds lighter – Pounds Sterling that is.

You see, the fact that easyJet planes would be made as near to paperless as possible also means that the company would save not lugging large quantities of paper on board. Every kilogram of weight on an aircraft burns more fuel, so reducing the weight on board means lower costs and, importantly, also means a lesser impact on the environment.