E-ENABLING

The air transportation industry has always been about reaction time. Acquiring the most accurate information and making the best use of it in the timeliest fashion is the key in every facet.

Pilots must have the most up-to-date information about their aircraft, including the weather and knowing the air traffic control situation, in order to fly as efficiently and safely as possible. Mechanics need to know the condition of the airplanes coming to their sites and how best to address the problems those airplanes have. Airline flight operations centers need to know that they will have the aircraft and crew they need in the right places for upcoming flights. Ground operations need to know where to bring fuel and catering items to service their gates. And passengers need to know what they are supposed to do if their flight is delayed or they are rerouted.

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All things Great and Small

In today's commercial airline industry, success is rarely measured by the size of your fleet or the airplanes you fly. Consider Oman Air: at a time when most airlines are struggling to remain profitable in the current economic environment, this Middle Eastern airline is flying high with a modest fleet of Boeing 737s.

Oman Air is the national carrier of Sultanate of Oman, a country situated on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the only publicly held airline in the region.

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RESPONDING to their every need

A 62-inch big-screen television flickers —always on—at one end of a large room. It is joined by the glow of several nearby computer monitors. Three or four animated conversations may be going on all at once, or it may be quiet. Open communication is encouraged in this room without cubicles. This describes one of the Boeing Rapid Response Center sites.

Linking Seattle and Everett, Wash., with Long Beach, Calif., the Rapid Response Center TV is not tuned to CNN, Fox or the latest episode of "American Idol." Instead the images that appear on screen show men and women working at these three sites.

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