Regional Express (Rex) airline chooses the way of the warrior with Zebra’s RW420 mobile printers

Regional Express (Rex) airline is one of the top 200 companies in Asia-Pacific, and is Australia’s largest independent regional airline with regular regional air services across 35 destinations throughout New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland. Rex operates more than 40 SAAB 340 aircraft and has recently commenced phased introductions of the latest generation SAAB 340B-Plus whilst phasing out the first-generation SAAB 340A aircraft for regular public transport services.

One issue with the SAAB aircraft was the lack of inbuilt "Flight Bags" – an in-cabin computer and printer wirelessly linked to the airport terminal program that calculates the load weight and balance of the aircraft prior to lift-off, as well as other assorted information including expected flight weather and passenger seating. Without this system, the First Officer is required to leave the plane during a flight turnaround, go to the airport terminal, run the program on the computer system and return with a printout of the information for the next flight. This procedure meant less efficiency during turnarounds.

Purchase of an inbuilt Flight Bag for any aircraft requires supply and installation by the aircraft manufacturer and hardwiring into the aircraft instrumentation. This is an expensive exercise, which would require installation into every aircraft in the Rex SAAB fleet of 40 SAAB aircraft. As such, Rex sought an alternative solution that was more cost effective, could remain independently portable and provide at minimum the same level of reports and flight information in compliance to the aviation regulations. The alternative would also need to be rugged and reliable enough to survive constant in-cabin use.

The final solution of flight deck tablet computers, called the SAAB Flight Bags (SFB) was a portable tablet PC with wireless connectivity and Zebra Road Warrior RW420 portable thermal printer for each aircraft. The SFB enables pilots to complete the aircraft weight and balance, flight planning as well as download and print pre-flight briefings via a wireless connection between the tablet PC to the computer program within the terminal. Peacock Bros. initially provided evaluation units for testing back in 2007 and now there are approximately 40 SAAB aircraft using the solution.

For more information on custom Zebra printer labelling solutions labelling solutions including the Rw 420 contact us at:pbsales@peacocks.com.au

This solution has increased efficiency between flights, and provided a superior portable solution that complies with all aviation rules and regulations. The need for the First Officer to travel to the terminal is completely eliminated, thereby allowing all crew to remain together at the aircraft to prepare for an efficient turnaround. This mobile computing and printing solution can be applied within any aircraft instantly reducing operational costs and capital expenditure while still complying with all aviation regulations.

Rex is extremely happy with both the Zebra mobile Road Warrior printers and the commitment from Peacock Bros. "We engaged in this project to improve on-time performance of our airline for our customers.” says Mayooran Thanabalasingam – Rex General Manager of IT & Communications. “The result was a reliable and easy to use solution that reduced the amount of time required to complete mandatory tasks between flights. Customers can now expect even more reliable flight times and better customer service. The Zebra printers are robust, rugged and compact at a very reasonable price. We are very happy with Peacock Bros. who willingly gave us evaluation and test units to trial and develop the application before committing to the final solution. The SFB is undoubtedly a break-through in the SAAB aircraft community and all other operators could certainly benefit from this innovation. ”

Peacock Bros. is a premium partner for Zebra Technologies providing sales and service support for the entire range of thermal printer solutions and is also a leading manufacturer of thermal labels and ribbons. With branches across Australia and over 120 years of experience in providing leading edge business solutions, Peacock Bros. provide unsurpassed expertise in project management and installation of your thermal printing and labelling needs.