SubscribeSafegate earned its largest U.S. contract for Safedock guidance systems when the DFW Airport Board voted its approval at their last monthly meeting.
The contract for 92 advanced visual docking guidance systems (A-VDGS) not only represents Safegate's largest sale in the U.S., but also represents the largest airport/airline cooperative project in the company's history.
Advanced Visual Docking Guidance Systems (A-VDGS)
82 of the 92 systems will be installed on gates used by American Airlines. "American was pleased with the results after an extended trial of Safedock systems at its hub in Miami resulted in increased efficiency, as well as better customer service, because of weather delays being minimized on the ramp", according to Wes Friedman of American Airlines' corporate real estate. When they linked Safegate's central gate operating system to Sabre, American Airlines became the first airline in the world to integrate the automated docking systems to their flight systems for fully automated aircraft parking guidance. Their Miami experience led them to partner with DFW to bring the same technology to their home base and largest hub where they expect to realize both increased efficiency and improved service recovery times following irregular operations.
For its part, DFW Airport has been very aggressive in seeking out new technology, ideas and solutions to increase both efficiency and safety in ground operations. Recently, the airport has been looking for solutions to mitigate the high cost and passenger inconvenience created by irregular operations caused by weather. For example, A-VDGS will allow aircraft to park at open gates even when ramp personnel cannot be present due to lightning. Adding A-VDGS is a natural progression from the ground-breaking work the airport has done with perameter taxiways and runway status lights that will ensure that the airport remains one of the most efficient and safe airfields in the world.
According to the project schedule the A-VDGS system should be fully operational at DFW by the spring of 2008.