iFIDS.com Online User-Interfaces

Schedule Maintenance and Day-Of Flight Updates

Ease of use is the cornerstone of the iFIDS.com system. iFIDS.com offers two methods for carriers’ frontline or back-office airline staff to easily and securely update flight status information: 1) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is available to all customers, and is the primary means of automatic flight data updates from carriers, and 2) iFIDS.com offers very easy-to-use user-interfaces designed to allow users to easily install schedules and make manual flight data changes directly to the FID system. Users can input or modify data from any web-enabled computer, which means that users can make flight data changes at the ticket counter as easily as they can from dispatch offices. This allows even the smallest carrier to update the status of their flights in real-time.

The Schedule Maintenance screen shown here is the screen through which users will input base-line schedule data. Schedules listed in the FID system are read well in advance of flight activity, and when appropriate the schedule flights are placed into our ‘day-of’ flight database. It is exceedingly clear and easy to use, and works with or without Broadband access. It is a real gift for airline staff, simplifying and organizing all the information they need to manage. Helping an airline organize their day-to-day domestic and international routes is what iFIDS.com does best!

The Day-Of Flight Updates screen shown here is where scheduled flights are placed once they have been read from the schedule. Once a flight is available in the day-of interface it can be changed either manually or through EDI updates to reflect real-time status.

Screen Builder and Display Profile Creation

iFIDS.com’s Screen Builder tools offer all the screen design tools required. Each display output can be individually formatted to suit the specific needs of a given monitor location. The Screen Builder allows for the definition of the number of “frames” in a given screen, and each frame is a distinct and separate destination capable of displaying specific flight information or visual messaging information. This feature will permit the Client to “split” the screen as requested. This also allows a display monitor to display multiple messages at the same time. Weather updates can be co-located with departure information. Tourism promotional information can share space with the arrivals data. The choices are endless and can be changed with a few keystrokes as needs change.

An example of the Screen Builder interface is shown below.

This figure demonstrates the Display Settings definition screen.

This screen shot demonstrates how a user can define which columns of flight data a given screen should include, and how those columns should be titled.

When setting up display profiles the Client can isolate data from a specific carrier for inclusion or exclusion. This may be of specific interest, for example, if departures or arrivals occur in distinct and separate parts of the Air Terminal Building.

In general, the suite of Screen Builder tools offers the Client the ability to shape display screens for each individual output as needs require. The Screen Builder offers preview capability at every step of the way allowing users to preview screens during the design process without affecting live public displays.

These hands-on user interfaces enable the Client to change displays as necessary without requiring support from the Contractor. iFIDS.com customers have modified font colours over time, for example, as they have determined which colours as more easily read in a given location.

Image Server for Dynamic Visual Messaging

The Image Server module offers the most flexibility available on the market today for the management of messaging content.

The Image Profile Screen below offers another example of the ease of use within the iFIDS.com suite of products. This screen manages the on-line messaging content available to the Client. Manipulation of content such as Flash files, graphic images (jpg or gif) or visual paging text messages are managed from this screen. By loading or unloading content into the “Selected Sequence” list, the Client can easily determine what images and messages will appear at each individual display location.

Animation

Animation and moving video is fully supported by iFIDS.com by using Flash 5 (or higher) animations. Files encoded in Mpeg, AVI and other formats can easily be converted into flash using standard, off the shelf software.

Message Scheduling

Image Server tools provide scheduling capabilities for images/messages to be displayed on each individual display output screen at specific times

Visual Paging

The iFIDS.com Visual Paging capability provides French or English vertically/horizontally scrolling text messages.

Ad hoc messaging is demonstrated in the next screen shot. Messages can be defined and added to the list of pre-defined visual paging messages. The font, scrolling speed, and every other aspect of display can be previewed prior to adding to the saved file list.

The number of repetitions, duration of message display, scroll speed, and scroll direction can all be selected and previewed in advance. Access to the video paging capability is available through any web-enabled computer. Access and access level is controlled through password securities.