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The airline teletype system uses teleprinters, which are electro-mechanical typewriters that can communicate typed messages from point to point through simple electric communications channels, often just pairs of wires. The most modern form of these devices are fully electronic and use a screen, instead of a printer.
The airline industry began using teletypewriter technology in the early 1920s utilizing radio stations located at 10 airfields in the United States. [1] The US Post Office and other US government agencies used these radio stations for transmitting telegraph messages. It was during this period that the first federal teletypewriter system was introduced in the United States to allow weather and flight information to be exchanged between air traffic facilities. While the use of physical teletypes is almost extinct, the message formats and switching concepts remain similar. In 1929, Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC) was formed to manage radio frequencies and license allocation in the United States, as well as to support the radio stations that were used by the emerging airlines, a role ARINC still fulfils today. ARINC is a private company originally owned by many of the world's airlines including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, British Airways, Air France, and SAS; it was acquired by Collins Aerospace in December 2013. [2]
In 1949, the Société Internationale de Télécommunication Aeronautique (SITA) was formed as a cooperative by 11 airlines: Air France, KLM, Sabena, Swissair, TWA, British European Airways, British Overseas Airways Corporation, British South American Airways, Swedish AB Aerotransport, Danish Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, and Norwegian Det Norske Luftfartselskap. Their aim was to enable airlines to be able to use the existing communications facilities in the most efficient manner. [3]
Morse code was the general means of relaying information between air communications stations prior to World War II. Generally, it was only necessary to relay a message between one or two stations. After World War II, there was an increase in the number of commercial aircraft operating, and these aircraft were capable of flying greater distances than in the past. As a result, the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network (AFTN) was implemented worldwide as a means of relaying the air traffic communications, sometimes through the use of radioteletype which had become common among military forces in the 1940s.
The airline industry continues to use teletypewriter messages over ARINC, SITA or AFTN networks as a medium for communicating via messages to exchange operational information. Most teletypewriter messages are machine-generated by automatic processes. [4] IATA standardised teletype message formats throughout the airline industry. [5]
Since 2010 there have been initiatives in the industry to tackle the high cost of the existing Type B network by deploying secured peer-to-peer solutions, e.g. EDIfly, developed by Innovative Software SARL in Luxembourg and used by companies like Cargolux, TAP, AirBridgeCargo, Garuda Indonesia, China Airlines, Air Asia, HACTL, Swissport etc. Such solutions allow users to exchange unrestricted amounts of Type B data over the public internet while maintaining all existing addressing schemes and message identification. Web-based technology also enables the community to expand the usage and removes shortcomings in the existing Type B exchange (limited to 5000 characters). The success of such initiatives will improve the processing of operational data for all stakeholders in the industry and provide expanded usage until newer technology like XML become the norm following IATAs decision to sunset CargoIMP in 2014 in operational systems of all stakeholders in the aviation scene across all continents. [6] [7] [8] [9]
QD AAABBCC - to (IATA destination address) (QD priority=deferred, QU priority = urgent, QK priority = normal) .XXXYYZZ 111301 - from (IATA origin address + timestamp DDtttt, DD=day of month, tttt in UTC) ASM - IATA type (keyword). Identifies type of message (rest of the message conforms to the format for this type. ASM=Adhoc Schedule(-change) Message) UTC - Time mode (Coordinated Universal Time). UTC or LOCAL 27SEP03899E001/TSTF DL Y - Message Reference line NEW - ASM subtype (Action Identifier) BA667/13APR - Flight and date of flight; J 319 C1M25VVA4C26 - fleet & equipment information LHR1340 BCN1610 - Station/time for depart & arrival LHRQQQ 99/1 - Route information. 99 is the passenger departure terminal code QQQBCN 98/A - Route information. 98 is the passenger arrival terminal code QQQQQQ 906/PAYDIV B - Route information. LHRQQQ 999/1 - Route information. 999 is the aircraft arrival terminal code QQQBCN 998/A - Route information. 998 is the aircraft departure terminal code SI - Other supplementary information (free text)
IATA addresses consist of 7 characters divided into the Origin IATA Code (AAA), a function indicator (BB), and the airline designator (CC). For example, HKGFFLH would be the Cargo Office (FF) of Lufthansa (LH) in Hong Kong (HKG). Auxiliary airline designators (XH) have been created to allow other stakeholders to share in the communication beyond the airlines, e.g. Ground Handlers, Charter Brokers etc.
An AFTN Teletype message always has an 8-character address.
The order of transmission of messages on a given circuit is determined by their priority codes: [10]
A teleprinter is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initially they were used in telegraphy, which developed in the late 1830s and 1840s as the first use of electrical engineering, though teleprinters were not used for telegraphy until 1887 at the earliest. The machines were adapted to provide a user interface to early mainframe computers and minicomputers, sending typed data to the computer and printing the response. Some models could also be used to create punched tape for data storage and to read back such tape for local printing or transmission.
John F. Kennedy International Airport is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New York airport system, the 13th-busiest airport in the United States, and the busiest international air passenger gateway into North America. Over 90 airlines operate from the airport, with nonstop or direct flights to destinations in all six inhabited continents.
Cargo airlines are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline cargo traffic represented 262,333 million tonne-kilometres with a 49.3% load factor: 52.1% for dedicated cargo operations, and 47.9% within mixed operations.
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number as part of their published timetable or schedule. Typically, a flight is operated by one airline while seats are sold for the flight by all cooperating airlines using their own designator and flight number.
In computing, "Not a typewriter" or ENOTTY is an error code defined in the errno.h found on many Unix systems. This code is now used to indicate that an invalid ioctl number was specified in an ioctl system call.
The Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN) is a worldwide system of aeronautical fixed circuits provided, as part of the Aeronautical Fixed Service, for the exchange of messages and/or digital data between aeronautical fixed stations having the same or compatible communications characteristics. AFTN comprises aviation entities including: ANS providers, aviation service providers, airport authorities and government agencies, to name a few. It exchanges vital information for aircraft operations such as distress messages, urgency messages, flight safety messages, meteorological messages, flight regularity messages and aeronautical administrative messages.
Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated (ARINC), established in 1929, was a major provider of transport communications and systems engineering solutions for eight industries: aviation, airports, defense, government, healthcare, networks, security, and transportation. ARINC had installed computer data networks in police cars and railroad cars and also maintains the standards for line-replaceable units.
A passenger name record (PNR) is a record in the database of a computer reservation system (CRS) that contains the itinerary for a passenger or a group of passengers travelling together. The concept of a PNR was first introduced by airlines that needed to exchange reservation information in case passengers required flights of multiple airlines to reach their destination ("interlining"). For this purpose, IATA and ATA have defined standards for interline messaging of PNR and other data through the "ATA/IATA Reservations Interline Message Procedures - Passenger" (AIRIMP). There is no general industry standard for the layout and content of a PNR. In practice, each CRS or hosting system has its own proprietary standards, although common industry needs, including the need to map PNR data easily to AIRIMP messages, has resulted in many general similarities in data content and format between all of the major systems.
The Teletype Model 33 is an electromechanical teleprinter designed for light-duty office use. It is less rugged and cost less than earlier Teletype machines. The Teletype Corporation introduced the Model 33 as a commercial product in 1963 after being originally designed for the United States Navy. There are three versions of the Model 33:
A boarding pass or boarding card is a document provided by an airline during airport check-in, giving a passenger permission to enter the restricted area of an airport and to board the airplane for a particular flight. At a minimum, it identifies the passenger, the flight number, and the date, and scheduled time for departure. A boarding pass may also indicate details of the perks a passenger is entitled to and is thus presented at the entrance of such facilities to show eligibility.
SITA is a multinational information technology company providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry. The company provides its services to around 400 members and 2,500 customers worldwide, which it claims is about 90% of the world's airline business. Around the world, nearly every passenger flight relies on SITA technology.
In aviation, ACARS is a digital datalink system for transmission of short messages between aircraft and ground stations via airband radio or satellite. The protocol was designed by ARINC and deployed in 1978, using the Telex format. More ACARS radio stations were added subsequently by SITA.
This is a list of airline codes. The table lists IATA's two-character airline designators, ICAO's three-character airline designators and the airline call signs. Historical assignments are also included.
A radiogram is a formal written message transmitted by radio. Also known as a radio telegram or radio telegraphic message, radiograms use a standardized message format, form and radiotelephone and/or radiotelegraph transmission procedures. These procedures typically provide a means of transmitting the content of the messages without including the names of the various headers and message sections, so as to minimize the time needed to transmit messages over limited and/or congested radio channels. Various formats have been used historically by maritime radio services, military organizations, and Amateur Radio organizations.
Airline reservation systems (ARS) are systems that allow an airline to sell their inventory (seats). It contains information on schedules and fares and contains a database of reservations and of tickets issued. ARSs are part of passenger service systems (PSS), which are applications supporting the direct contact with the passenger.
Sand Point Airport is a state owned, public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Sand Point, a city in the Aleutians East Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Scheduled airline service to Anchorage International Airport is provided by Peninsula Airways (PenAir).
WorldTracer is a SITA / IATA service provided for the tracking of lost or delayed baggage. It has been in operation for many years and is used by all airlines that are members of IATA. Most of the low-cost carriers that are based in Europe such as Norwegian Air Shuttle, Wizz Air also use WorldTracer.
The telex network is a station-to-station switched network of teleprinters similar to a telephone network, using telegraph-grade connecting circuits for two-way text-based messages. Telex was a major method of sending written messages electronically between businesses in the post–World War II period. Its usage went into decline as the fax machine grew in popularity in the 1980s.
The Teletype Model 28 is a product line of page printers, typing and non-typing tape perforator and tape reperforators, fixed head single contact and pivoted head multi-contact transmitter-distributors, and receiving selector equipment. Regarded as the most rugged machines Teletype Corporation built, this line of teleprinters used an exchangeable type box for printing and sequential selector "Stunt Box" to mechanically initiate non-printing functions within the typing unit of the page printer, electrically control functions within the page printer and electrically control external equipment.