Aspiring startup Connect Airlines will use Flyht Aerospace’s real-time data and situational awareness service on its fleet of De Havilland Dash-8-400s. 

The five-year deal, announced May 4, will see Flyht’s Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) units installed on each aircraft. The avionics will support use of Flyht’s Actionable Intelligence suite.  

Connect’s initial AI capabilities will include voice and text communications, alerts on engine and airframe exceedances and automatic movement messages. Plans call for adding fuel management, gate and ground operations data as well as integrated flight plan and emissions tracking. The potential value of the deal is $1 million, Flyht said. 

“After an exhaustive review of alternatives, we chose Flyht because it provided our flight crew and operations team the technology, data and analytics to operate a highly efficient and reliable airline, right out of the box,” Connect COO Dave Marcontell said.  

Connect, a scheduled carrier being launched by charter operator Waltzing Matilda Aviation, plans to start flights this fall. It will focus on connecting U.S. business travelers with Canada via Toronto’s Billy Bishop downtown airport. 

AI is Flyht’s recently rebranded and expanding suite of real-time data analysis tools. Designed to give customers both situational awareness and recommended actions, the tools analyze operator data from existing systems and deliver messages in multiple ways, based on an operators’ needs.