On May 17, ARINC Direct announced it will add computerized ETOPS route planning to its portfolio of flight support services for business aircraft. The new service will be available by mid-year at no extra cost.

ETOPS (Extended Operations) conformance will help ARINC's European customers meet their current JAROPS requirements, as well as enable U.S. operators to meet new FAA requirements by February 2008.

"Our U.S. and European customers have asked for an ETOPS capability, and we are pleased to deliver it," stated Steve Corfman, ARINC Direct Manager of Flight Planning. "This new automated service will greatly simplify ETOPS planning and compliance for our customers."

ETOPS rules ensure that multi-engine aircraft traveling on routes over water - such as the busy North Atlantic routes - will remain within range of alternate destination airports for safety in case of the loss of an engine. U.S. commercial carriers have met ETOPS requirements for years, and the FAA has now extended the rules to apply to corporate jets operating under Part 135 as well.

Manually preparing an ETOPS-conforming flight plan can involve long calculations of fuel ranges, plus trial-and-error plotting of flying times on a route map. The ARINC Direct automated ETOPS service will eliminate this tedious work.

"ARINC Direct will provide operators with routes marked in conformance with ETOPS requirements," continued Corfman. "This enhancement will be extremely helpful to all our customers who fly long range and remote area missions."

ARINC's new ETOPS service is expected to appeal to charter and air taxi operators as well as private business jet operators. The addition of automated ETOPS planning puts ARINC Direct on an equal footing with long-established providers serving Part 121 operators and commercial aviation.

"We launched ARINC Direct with the intention of providing the best value services in the business aviation market," said Bob Richard, Senior Director, ARINC Direct. "We have achieved this by listening to our customers and responding to their needs. It is one more reason ARINC Direct is regarded as an essential partner of business aviation."

ARINC Direct, the business aviation arm of ARINC Incorporated, has charted strong growth in Europe since its official launch of service at EBACE 2006. The company has added many of Europe's private and VIP charter operators to its established North American customer base, and now provides flight support services to more than 1500 aircraft. ARINC Direct has uniquely integrated the key components required for successful operations in the field of business aviation: cabin and cockpit communications, flight planning, weather and NOTAMS, runway analysis, and flight tracking.