NAVBLUE

NAVBLUE is an Airbus aviation software and services subsidiary focused on the digital infrastructure used to plan, operate, monitor, and optimize flights. The business was established in 2016 through the combination of Navtech, Airbus LUCEM, and Airbus ProSky. Its portfolio spans flight planning, aircraft performance, aeronautical information, electronic flight bags, navigation data, crew planning, flight-data analysis, and air traffic management. The company has roots in Navtech, a Canadian aviation technology business created in the 1980s by Ray English, an Air Canada pilot, with assistance from his wife Dorothy and a small development team. The original concept arose from a computer program designed to evaluate fuel tankering decisions. It subsequently developed into a broader flight operations management system capable of generating flight plans and helping airlines control fuel, time, and operating costs. Navtech initially targeted smaller airlines that wanted an independent in-house or hosted flight-planning capability rather than relying exclusively on centralized service bureaus. Navtech expanded through product development, partnerships, and acquisitions. Its technology introduced route optimization based on forecast winds, temperatures, aircraft performance, and published airways. During the 1990s and 2000s, the business broadened into runway analysis, weather services, aeronautical data, crew planning, preferential bidding, and crew-pairing optimization. Acquisitions of Compuflight, part of Global Weather Dynamics, Skyplan's United Kingdom division, Airware Solutions, European Aeronautical Group, and DW International added capabilities and geographical reach. Airbus acquired Navtech in 2016 and combined it with Airbus LUCEM and Airbus ProSky to create NAVBLUE. The resulting business brought together airline flight-operations software, navigation and aeronautical information, performance-based navigation expertise, and air traffic management consulting. NAVBLUE subsequently continued to expand its operational-control portfolio, including the 2020 acquisition of Aviolinx and its RAIDO application. NAVBLUE's customers use its products to support dispatchers, pilots, operations-control centers, crew planners, performance engineers, airport and navigation specialists, and air traffic-management organizations. Its software and data products are used across the flight lifecycle: preparing a route, calculating aircraft and runway performance, producing charts and navigation databases, distributing operational information to crews, managing irregular operations, and analyzing flight data after completion. The company is headquartered in Toulouse, France, maintains an additional headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, has a major office in Hersham in the United Kingdom, and operates through satellite offices internationally.

NAVBLUE's history combines the development of Navtech in Canada with Airbus's earlier aviation software and air traffic management activities. In the mid-1980s, Ray English, an Air Canada pilot, developed a computer system to assess fuel tankering economics. After an airline showed limited interest, Wardair encouraged him to expand the tool into a more comprehensive flight-planning application. English, working with his wife Dorothy and a small team, developed the system in Elmira, Ontario. The resulting business became Navtech. Navtech's early proposition was to give airlines an independent flight-operations management system rather than requiring them to use only centrally hosted planning bureaus. Its software could calculate routes using aircraft type, forecast winds, temperatures, speeds, altitudes, and published airways. This minimum-time route capability represented a significant development beyond systems that simply selected among pre-existing routes. Early customers included Wardair, American Trans Air, Nationair, and Canada 3000. As communications technology advanced, Navtech added hosted access so customers could remotely request and generate flight plans. In 1994, it merged with Compuflight, a flight-operations services provider based in Long Island, New York. The transaction expanded Navtech's position in flight planning and introduced runway-analysis services. In 1998, Navtech acquired the weather service division of Global Weather Dynamics, based in Monterey, California. In 1999, it acquired Skyplan's United Kingdom division, supporting expansion in Europe. Navtech entered crew planning in 2001 through the acquisition of Airware Solutions. This added a preferential bidding system, while a partnership with Parallel Integrated Applications Systems supported a crew-pairing optimizer. In 2005, Navtech acquired European Aeronautical Group, an organization founded by Scandinavian Airlines, British Airways, and avionics manufacturers. In 2015, it acquired DW International, adding expertise in performance-based navigation software. In 2016, Airbus acquired Navtech and merged it with Airbus LUCEM and Airbus ProSky. The combination created NAVBLUE, bringing together flight-planning, aircraft-performance, aeronautical-information, navigation, and air traffic management capabilities. In November of that year, NAVBLUE signed a three-year contract with Vietnam's air traffic management corporation and civil aviation authority to redesign the country's national air traffic plan in cooperation with airlines and the two busiest airports. NAVBLUE continued to broaden its operational-control portfolio. In 2020, it acquired Aviolinx and the RAIDO application, completing and strengthening the N-Operations Control Centre Suite. The company now operates as an Airbus subsidiary serving airlines and other aviation organizations with software, data, and professional services. Its principal locations include Toulouse, Waterloo, and Hersham, alongside satellite offices worldwide.

• 2020

  Aviolinx and RAIDO acquired

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  NAVBLUE acquired Aviolinx and its RAIDO application to strengthen its operations-control-center suite.

• 2016

  NAVBLUE established by Airbus

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  Airbus acquired Navtech and combined it with Airbus LUCEM and Airbus ProSky to form NAVBLUE.

• 2016

  Vietnam national air traffic plan contract

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  NAVBLUE entered a three-year agreement to redesign Vietnam's national air traffic plan with government, airline, and airport stakeholders.

• 2015

  DW International acquired

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition added performance-based navigation software expertise.

• 2005

  European Aeronautical Group acquired

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  Navtech acquired European Aeronautical Group, extending its aeronautical and avionics-related capabilities.

• 2001

  Entry into crew planning

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition of Airware Solutions added preferential bidding and helped establish a broader crew-planning portfolio.

• 1999

  Expansion into the United Kingdom

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  Navtech acquired Skyplan's United Kingdom division to accelerate European growth.

• 1998

  Weather service capability added

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  Navtech acquired the weather service division of Global Weather Dynamics.

• 1994

  Merger with Compuflight

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  Navtech merged with Compuflight, expanding its flight-planning presence and adding runway-analysis capabilities.

• 1980

  Navtech concept developed in Canada

  [1]NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org

  Ray English developed an early fuel-tankering and flight-planning concept that evolved into Navtech's flight operations management software.

A global aviation technology provider combining airline flight-operations software, aeronautical data, aircraft performance engineering, and air traffic management expertise under the Airbus group.

• Flight planning

  N-Flight Planning

  NAVBLUE's flight-planning technology supports airline dispatch and operations teams in producing routes while considering fuel consumption, flight time, aircraft performance, weather, airways, and operating constraints. Its lineage includes Navtech's ability to calculate optimized minimum-time routes using forecast winds and temperatures rather than merely selecting from a fixed library of routes.

• Aircraft performance

  Flysmart+

  Flysmart+ is an aircraft-performance software family supporting operational calculations such as take-off and landing performance. These tools help flight crews and airline operations personnel apply aircraft-specific performance data to operational decisions and can be integrated into electronic flight bag workflows.

• Aeronautical information

  Aeronautical charts and navigation data

  NAVBLUE produces aeronautical charts for aerodromes, en-route navigation, and helicopter operations. It also manages navigation databases used by flight management systems, simulators, ground-positioning systems, airspace models, and air traffic applications.

• Electronic flight bag

  Electronic flight bag solutions

  The electronic flight bag portfolio delivers operational tools and information to pilots through laptops or tablets. It can bring together flight-planning outputs, performance calculations, charts, and other navigation or operational data in a digital cockpit workflow.

• Crew management

  Crew planning and Preferential Bidding System

  NAVBLUE's crew-planning capability includes preferential bidding and related scheduling functions. The software can support the construction of flying and reserve schedules and may be extended with training-schedule functionality, helping airlines align crew preferences with operational requirements.

• Crew scheduling

  Pairing Optimizer

  Pairing Optimizer is a desktop application for producing crew pairings across selected scheduling periods. It is part of the crew-planning lineage inherited from Navtech and is designed to help airlines build operationally viable crew rotations.

• Operations control

  N-Operations Control Centre Suite

  The N-Operations Control Centre Suite brings together applications for airline operations-control activities. Its portfolio was strengthened by the acquisition of Aviolinx and RAIDO in 2020, supporting the management of live operations and operational disruption.

• Flight operations control

  RAIDO

  RAIDO is an operations-control application acquired with Aviolinx in 2020. It forms part of NAVBLUE's broader control-center and flight-operations management offering.

• 2020

  Aviolinx and RAIDO acquisitionM&A

  Background

  NAVBLUE aimed to complete and strengthen its flight-operations and operations-control-center portfolio.

  Action taken

  NAVBLUE acquired Aviolinx and the RAIDO application.

  Aftermath

  RAIDO became part of the N-Operations Control Centre Suite and expanded NAVBLUE's operational-control capabilities.

  Source

• 2016

  Airbus creates NAVBLUE through business combinationM&A

  Background

  Airbus sought to consolidate complementary flight-operations, navigation, and air traffic management capabilities.

  Action taken

  Airbus acquired Navtech and combined it with Airbus LUCEM and Airbus ProSky under the NAVBLUE brand.

  Aftermath

  The combination created an Airbus subsidiary with a broader portfolio covering airline operations software, aeronautical data, performance, and air traffic management.

  Source

1. 1NAVBLUEen.wikipedia.org
2. 2NAVBLUE official websitenavblue.aero