WestJet Max 8 is inflight over a city in Canada. FLYHT is now in partnership with WestJet

Press Release: WestJet teams with FLYHT & NOAA to improve forecasting

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Press Release hub banner blue with title in red white and blueFLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (the “Company” or “FLYHT”) today announced that WestJet Airlines has agreed to collaborate with the Company and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and the prediction of localized severe weather in North America. The partnership with WestJet will focus initially on providing NOAA with additional humidity, temperature and wind observations in the data sparse regions over the Pacific where the airline flies routes.

As the airline partner to this important NOAA weather program, WestJet will install FLYHT’s weather solutions on three Boeing 737 MAX and two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft flying Pacific routes. Each installation will include a package of FLYHT-WVSS-II atmospheric water vapor sensors to continuously monitor environmental conditions around the aircraft during flight. The sensors will be fully integrated with FLYHT’s Edge multi-channel WQAR and Certus SatCom for real-time in-flight communication and data transmission. Thereafter, the aircraft-based observations (ABO) data will flow through the National Mesonet Program to provide NOAA with enroute data as well as vertical profiles of wind, temperature and moisture.

The readings will provide NOAA with valuable atmospheric data to fill in coverage gaps provided by other observing systems. One such gap is the geographic region off the West Coast of the United States and extending westward and southward into the central tropical Pacific Ocean – an area well-known for the “Atmospheric River” phenomena which can occasionally result in flooding rainfalls and heavy mountain snows in the Western U.S. Quantifying the amount of moisture in the atmosphere will result in better forecasts that will be of great value for public safety and water resources communities.

“We’re honored to welcome WestJet as the airline partner for FLYHT’s expanded weather program with NOAA,” commented Murray Skelton, VP Business Development and Weather Solutions. “WestJet is a forward-thinking organization that flies routes over data sparse regions of the Pacific Ocean, making them ideally suited to capture the coverage gaps that exist with the current humidity observations being provided to NOAA. We’re excited to move this initiative with NOAA forward and expand our relationship with WestJet.”

“WestJet is proud to partner with FLYHT and NOAA, as we leverage their innovative solutions to improve our weather forecasting accuracy, which further enhances our ability to increase safety and improve fuel efficiency through optimized flight planning,” said Scott Wilson, WestJet, Vice-President, Operations.

Said Curtis Marshall, Ph.D., Director of the NWS Commercial Data Program and Chair of the WMO Expert Team on Aircraft Based Observations, “We are pleased to partner with FLYHT and WestJet for the installation of water vapor sensors on aircraft, the first such installations in a decade on aircraft to provide meteorological observations to NWS, and in this data void region of the Pacific where we expect additional observations to improve our forecasts.”

The initial hardware installs are expected to commence in early 2025 and are being funded with FY 2023 appropriations of $500,000 that FLYHT was awarded in September 2023 (see here).

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About FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd.

FLYHT provides airlines with Actionable Intelligence to transform operational insight into immediate, quantifiable action, and delivers industry leading solutions to improve aviation safety, efficiency, and profitability. This unique capability is driven by a suite of patented aircraft certified hardware products, AFIRS™. Solutions include an aircraft satcom/interface device that enables cockpit voice communications, the transmission of aircraft data both inflight via satellite and post-flight via 5G, real-time aircraft state and fleet status analysis, and preventative maintenance solutions. FLYHT’s hardware products can also be interfaced with FLYHT’s proprietary relative humidity sensors to deliver airborne weather and humidity data in real-time.

FLYHT is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, and is an AS9100 Quality registered company.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated/projected revenues and related matters. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are founded on the basis of expectations, assumptions and hypotheses made by the Company, including, but not limited to projected revenues. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, and supply chain delays. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Featured image credited to WestJet