Britannia Airways has extended its Open Text Livelink deployment to provide PDA and laptop access during flights, giving pilots and cabin crew real-time access to flight data on the aircraft.

The PDA's have been rolled out to Britannia cabin crew and are used to record and transact in-flight retail purchases and present flight documentation which is downloaded using wireless technology at the bases prior to the flight. The solution builds on Britannia Airway's original Livelink application-a flight briefing system, which provides pre-flight data, such as passenger manifests, staff schedules and security information.

"We have given our pilots and cabin crew the ability to take Livelink directly into the aircraft through portable electronic devices, providing around-the-clock access to Livelink content so that they can make the best use of their travel time," said John Gough Program Manager at Britannia Airways.

According to Britannia, Laptop computers have been rolled out to its pilots and, using Livelink, the airline has also been able to replace traditional paper-based manuals, and pilot notices, reducing briefing times to help deliver 'on time' flight departures and providing an audit trail to ensure that pilots are fulfilling all aviation guidelines, regulations and policies.