Raytheon Technologies subsidiary Collins Aerospace has signed an agreement to acquire aviation data company FlightAware. FlightAware, which provides “global flight tracking solutions, predictive technology, analytics and decision-making tools,” will be joining Collins’ avionics strategic business unit as part of the company’s information management services portfolio. An expected closing date and the financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
“FlightAware is the recognized leader in data collection, analytics and customer experience, which will help Collins unlock the full power of the connected ecosystem for our customers,” said Dave Nieuwsma, Collins Aerospace head of avionics. “FlightAware’s flight tracking and data platform, the largest in the world, has the potential to deliver new capabilities and innovations across our entire business.”
Founded in 2005 and based in Houston, Texas, FlightAware currently employs approximately 130 people. According to the company, its proprietary terrestrial ADS-B network includes tens of thousands of receivers across 200 countries and territories. FlightAware offers both real-time and historical flight information.
Unlikely if this will be beneficial for most GA users. I predict a membership / subscription change to the business model very soon
Interesting that two big-name aviation products of the digital age came from Houston. ForeFlight and FlightAware are both from that area. Both started as garage operations, and both have now been acquired by a major long-standing aerospace corporation.
One of the really cool features of FlightAware’s business case is the fact that virtually all of those “tens of thousands of receivers” feeding their system are sited and provided with free internet access by us aviation enthusiasts. In many cases the enthusiasts also provided the receivers themselves.