System and method for modelling a flight

• US 8,214,075 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Issued: 07/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airways Corp of New Zealand Ltd. (Government of New Zealand)
• Original Assignee: Airways Corp of New Zealand Ltd. (Government of New Zealand)
• Inventors: Griffin, Mark Raymond, Robertson, Mervyn Lloyd
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marc, McDieunel
• Application Number:
  US12/201,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20090094011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 725/69, 725/76, 725/72, 725/77, 348/E7.086, 348/E7.085, 348/E7.093, 455/431, 455/12.1, 279/217.3, 379/90.01, 416/32, 343/757
• US Class Current: 700/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A method of modelling a flight of an aircraft using at least one computer system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes: sourcing flight details from at least one data source using at least one data acquisition system, the flight details representative of the activity of the aircraft within a flight information region, and compiling a flight model from the flight details using a processing system, the flight model indicating the activity of the aircraft over the duration of the flight in two or more FIRs or for an entire flight undertaken in a single FIR.

Claims

1. A method of modelling a flight of an aircraft using at least one computer system, the method comprising:

sourcing flight details from at least one data source using at least one data acquisition system, wherein the flight details are compiled from a plurality of flight detail records within a single flight information region (FIR) and are validated and aggregated via a matching algorithm into a single flight detail record representative of the activity of the aircraft within an FIR; and

compiling a single flight model from the validated and aggregated flight details using a processing system, the single flight model indicating the activity of the aircraft over the duration of a journey from a departure port to an arrivals port in;

two or more FIRs;

or

an entire flight undertaken in a single FIR,

wherein the processing system uses the flight details to determine utilized services from available services, within an FIR, to the flight; and

wherein data representative of the activity of the aircraft in an FIR is not limited to the data recorded in that FIR.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one data source includes an air traffic management (ATM) system providing automated electronic aircraft tracking, the tracking including at least one of the following i) primary and secondary radar ATM systems, ii) GPS based tracking systems, iii) satellite tracking systems and iv) aviation communication systems.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the at least one data source includes a plurality of disparate ATM systems.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising determining the available services to the flight within the FIR by accessing at least one services availability register including stored data on the available services in at least one FIR.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising comparing the flight details with known flight factors specific to the flight to determine the utilised services.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising calculating at least one charge for at least one utilised service by the flight.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the charge calculation incorporates the time of day and/or date the utilised service is provided.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the flight details are hypothetical and the processing system is used in a simulation capacity to model a hypothetical flight and subsequently calculate a hypothetical set of services charges to be incurred.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the flight details include at least one flight detail record generated by a single source of ATM data.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising executing an aggregation process before the flight model is compiled, the aggregation process correlating multiple flight detail records relating to data from a single ATM system into a single aggregated flight detail record.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the flight detail records are correlated by matching time and/or location recordings from each flight detail record for each ATM system.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising collating flight detail records relating to a single flight from a plurality of flight detail records relating to a plurality of flights by comparing corresponding parameters from each the flight detail record and applying a rating algorithm to determine a level of correlation.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein a flight detail record is recorded from input from an ATM systems messaging system.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising executing a matching algorithm prior to the compilation of the flight model, the matching algorithm correlating consecutive sets of flight detail records from separate FIRs relating to a single flight.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the matching algorithm detects the transition of an aircraft between FIRs.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the matching algorithm correlates aircraft position at the instance of FIR boundary crossings to correlate separate sets of flight detail records of a single flight sourced from ATMs in two adjacent FIRs.

17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flight model includes the available services drawn from ATM data and airport-related data sources.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the ATM data indicates type and number of utilised services provided to an aircraft during take off, en route via one or more transition FIRs and landing at a destination airport.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein at least one airport-related data source provides information on the available services and utilised services.

20. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein revenue received by each service provider for chargeable utilised services incurred by an aircraft is allocated to operational units of the service provider based on the utilised services provided by the operational units.

21. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein costs of utilised services incurred by the aircraft directly defined as direct services are calculated independently of data from the flight details.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein details of the direct services provided to an aircraft operator are input via at least one mobile data entry device communicatively coupled to the processing system.

23. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein data identified by the processing system as containing possible data integrity errors is stored in a data repository for analysis and/or correction.

24. A system for modelling a flight of an aircraft, the system comprising:

at least one data acquisition system configured to source flight details from at least one data source, wherein the flight details are compiled from a plurality of flight detail records within a single flight information region (FIR) and are validated and aggregated via a matching algorithm into a single flight detail record representative of the activity of the aircraft within a single FIR; and

a processing system configured to compile a single flight model from the validated and aggregated flight details, the single flight model indicating the activity of the aircraft over the duration of a journey from a departure port to an arrivals port in;

two or more FIRs;

or

an entire flight undertaken in a single FIR,

wherein data representative of the activity of the aircraft in an FIR is not limited to the data recorded in that FIR.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one data source includes an ATM system providing automated electronic aircraft tracking, the tracking including at least one of the following:

i) primary and secondary radar ATM systems, ii) GPS based tracking systems, iii) satellite tracking systems and iv) aviation communication systems.

26. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein services available to the flight within the FIR are determined by accessing at least one services availability register, the register including stored data on the services available in at least one the FIR.

27. The system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the system is configured to determine the services utilised by the flight for at least one of:

i) the duration of the flight calculated from the flight model, ii) a FIR calculated from the flight details and iii) a comparison of the flight details with known flight factors specific to the flight.

28. The system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the flight details include at least one flight detail record generated by a single source of ATM data.

29. The system as claimed in claim 28, wherein the processing system is configured to execute an aggregation process before the flight model is compiled, the aggregation process correlating multiple flight detail records relating to data from a single ATM system into a single aggregated flight detail record.

30. The system as claimed in claim 29, wherein the flight detail records are correlated by correlating time and/or location recordings from each flight detail record for each ATM system.

31. The system as claimed in claim 29, wherein the processing system is configured to collate flight detail records relating to a single flight from a plurality of flight detail records relating to a plurality of flights by comparing corresponding parameters from each the flight detail record and applying a rating algorithm to determine a level of correlation.

32. The system as claimed in claim 28, wherein the flight detail record is recordable from input from an ATM systems messaging system.

33. The system as claimed in claim 32, further comprising a matching algorithm configured to be executable prior to the compilation of the flight model.

34. The system as claimed in claim 33, wherein the matching algorithm correlates consecutive sets of flight detail records from separate FIRs relating to a single flight.

35. The system as claimed in claim 33, wherein the matching algorithm detects the transition of an aircraft between FIRs.

36. The system as claimed in claim 35, wherein the matching algorithm correlates aircraft position at the instance of FIR boundary crossings to correlate separate sets of flight detail records of a single flight sourced from two adjacent FIRs.

37. The system as claimed in claim 28, wherein the flight model includes the available services drawn from ATM data and airport-related data sources.

38. The system as claimed in claim 37, wherein the ATM data indicates type and number of utilised services provided to an aircraft during take off, en route via one or more transition FIRs and landing at a destination airport.

39. The system as claimed in claim 37, wherein at least one airport data source provides information on the available services and utilised services.

40. The system as claimed in claim 24, wherein revenue received by each service provider for chargeable utilised services incurred by an aircraft is allocated to operational units of the service provider based on the utilised services provided by the operational units.

41. The system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the processing system further calculates costs of utilised services incurred by the aircraft directly (herein termed direct services) and calculated independently of the flight details.

42. The system as claimed in claim 41, wherein the direct services provided to an aircraft operator are input via at least one mobile data entry device communicatively coupled to the processing system.

43. The system as claimed in claim 24, wherein data identified by the processing system as containing possible data integrity errors are stored in a data repository for analysis and/or correction.

44. A system for modelling a flight of an aircraft using at least one computer system, the system comprising:

means for sourcing flight details from at least one data source using at least one data acquisition system, wherein the flight details are compiled from a plurality of flight detail records within a single flight information region (FIR) and are validated and aggregated via a matching algorithm into a single flight detail record representative of the activity of the aircraft within an FIR; and

means for compiling a flight model from the validated and aggregated flight details using a processing system, the flight model indicating the activity of the aircraft over the duration of a journey from a departure port to an arrivals port in two or more FIRs or an entire flight undertaken in a single FIR, wherein the processing system uses the flight details to determine utilized services from available services, within an FIR, to the flight.