Air transport in the United States continues to focus on technological innovation. Commercial aviation aims to safeguard air safety. This is the case of Southwest Airlines, which has sought to incorporate intelligent detection technology systems into the operating systems of its aircraft. In this way, they aim to reduce the number of accidents due to human failure, especially during takeoff and landing.
Southwest Airlines
It is one of the most important low-cost airlines in the United States. It operates in 11 different countries with a total of 121 destinations. It is based in Dallas and is one of the largest airlines in the world. This airline has a rule that is well known to customers. It is the 10-minute rule, through which you can get 100% of your ticket back by canceling even 10 minutes before the flight.
Honeywell Aerospace Technologies and Southwest Airlines
Headquartered in Phoenix, it is a division of the Honeywell International group of companies. This spin-off comprises a supplier of aero engines and other systems in the aerospace industry. Both companies have launched a synergy to bring technological innovation and aviation safety. Through it, Southwest Airlines has incorporated new technology in all its Boeing 737 models, with the aim of reducing accidents due to human error at critical moments. 700 of its aircraft are already equipped with these systems.
SmartRunway and SmartLanding
The systems designed by Honeywell Aerospace Technologies for the airline are SmartRunway and SmartLanding. These systems prevent risky decision-making at key moments and alert the pilot with visual stimuli at takeoff, taxi and landing. Inspired by the parking assistance systems in vehicles, the Wall Street Journal explains. The company explained in a statement, “SmartRunway and SmartLanding help flight crews improve their situational awareness through audible and visual alerts.”
This type of technology puts the company one step ahead of the competition. It’s not just about incorporating new technology, it’s about offering better flight safety, which is also vital for consumers. No matter how cheap an airline ticket is, no one will want to fly with that airline if it is known for its poor security.
Aircraft accidents in the United States
One of the main investments of all airlines in existence is safety. Absolutely no one wants to experience any kind of incident inside an airplane, no matter how minor. That is why companies such as Southwest have made the decision to continue investing in order to guarantee a total level of safety. However, the last year has not left positive figures in terms of air incidents in the United States.
We all remember the headlines of the incident in Orlando, where a plane attempted to take off from a taxiway instead of the main runway. A day later, thanks to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a glare from the sun may have been the trigger for a near miss in Chicago. Like these, thousands of incidents remain a scare, but others have a fatal outcome. Under this prerogative, Southwest’s chief operating officer, Andrew Patterson, stated that “we think it’s a really powerful tool to add more barriers to potentially bad outcomes”.
On the other hand, Honeywell Aerospace President Jim Currier explained that given unpredictable weather conditions and dense air traffic, pilots and cabin crew face increasingly challenging situations. Fortunately, as the challenges evolve, so does the technology that provides the information they need in real time,” he said.And that is the reality.
The aviation industry cannot focus on sales and increasing destinations, but rather on offering a quality and, above all, safe service. It is clear that this is a service that has to satisfy and protect customers, but the truth is that there is an important human factor burden; the cabin crew. That is why companies must make sure that both onboard personnel and crew are being protected in the safest way possible.