Latin American budget carrier Viva Air has selected Teledyne Controls to provide hardware and software to collect aircraft data and distribute on-board system software updates across a fleet of Airbus A320 jets.

Teledyne says that a total 50 A320neo and -ceo jets will be forward-fitted with the wireless data loading technology.

The equipment suite for each aircraft will comprise the US supplier’s Flight Data Interface and Management Unit (FDIMU) software to facilitate aircraft condition monitoring, a quick access recorder, and Loadstar Server Enterprise and Airborne Data Loader programs that enable operators to upload and distribute software updates across the aircraft.

Teledyne says that the solutions will increase the speed of updating aircraft software – including on board navigation databases – and “streamline” maintenance processes.

The IT package “ensures that the latest version of software is installed, while reducing data loading time and eliminating the need to reproduce, distribute and load countless floppy disks each month”, Teledyne says.

It adds: “This keeps human intervention to a minimum and gives operators the ability to load their aircraft at multiple hubs.”

Teledyne says Viva Air is the first airline in the region to benefit from the technology.

Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that Viva Air's subsidiaries in Colombia and Peru together have 18 A320ceos in service and orders for another 44 aircraft, including 35 Neos.

Source: Cirium Dashboard