That in ATM we are only now taking the first tentative steps to set the scene for the implementation of System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is not due in any way to SWIM being so complicated, it needing rocket science or yet to be invented technologies. Many an “expert” would make you believe this to be the case but it is not. We lost more than ten years due to ignorance and obfuscation but never mind, it is more important to look towards the future and it looks good for SWIM.
True, the SESAR target dates for SWIM are not as ambitious as they should and could be, but OK, one step at a time… At least officially SWIM is not in question any more.
In the meantime, if you want to have a first hand demonstration of SWIM at work in the aviation context, do the following.
Next time you make a flight reservation, particularly on an airline that is a member of one of the big alliances, watch the text that comes up in the
URL window of your browser as you walk through the various steps of the reservation process. Things usually get really interesting when you get to seat selection…
My concrete example comes from a trip to Prague in the Czech Republic on Czech Airlines who are members of Sky Team. While selecting the flight, I was clearly in the CSA system but when I got to seat selection, the URL changed to that of KLM… to change back to the original address again for printing the e-tickets.
Few systems on the face of the globe were more proprietary and incompatible than airline systems used to be originally. But commercial pressures and recognition of the benefits of information management have pushed them towards data level integration, in other words SWIM with wings. The power of information management and sharing is demonstrated also by the fact that even low-cost carriers, not so long ago still fiercely independent, are muscling their way on board the big reservation systems…
I can almost hear you say now that air traffic management is different… we are dealing with safety of life information and that makes things much
more complicated. I have heard that argument many times before and almost always as an excuse for not having done something important. The fact of the matter is applications and systems that impact billions of dollars, be it in the banking world or the airlines, must meet requirements that often exceed those we use in aviation. Losing a single life to a computer glitch is of course one too many, but losing a couple of millions to a similar glitch (as may happen if passenger data gets jinxed on a major scale) is also an absolute no-no.
Besides airline systems, the second most incompatible systems are in the world of air traffic management. SWIM and other developments will push them out of this legacy slumber and the sooner the better. There can be no excuse for not doing it.
SWIM is here, now.