Flight-support information does not always reach every system that needs it. A flight-plan status update may be available in one platform while another application used by the flight department still relies on someone transferring the information manually.
Collins Aerospace is addressing this challenge with ARINCDirect OpenAPI, an integration capability designed to make selected flight-support data available to operators’ existing digital systems.
Announced in October 2026, the capability connects flight-support data to the platforms operators already use, according to Collins.
Bringing Flight-Support Data into Existing Workflows
ARINCDirect OpenAPI provides access to information including flight-plan status, airspace information, trip performance and logbook data.
For business aviation operators using separate flight-support, operational management and reporting systems, the opportunity is to reduce the repeated transfer of information between applications.
Collins describes the interface as modular, allowing customers and partners to select the data streams relevant to their requirements.
The company also reports that early adopters have already integrated OpenAPI with their existing enterprise tools.
What Changes When Flight Data Reaches Other Systems
According to Collins, customers and partners can automatically receive supported data without having to re-key or reformat it.
For example, a flight-plan status update in ARINCDirect could be retrieved by a connected operations application, removing the need for personnel to copy that information manually.
However, the announcement does not establish whether changes made within a connected application can be written back to ARINCDirect. Operators should therefore distinguish between receiving data automatically and having a fully synchronised, two-way integration.
That distinction is particularly important when multiple systems are used to manage the same flight.
The Questions Flight Departments Still Need Answered
Collins refers to access to real-time information, but its announcement does not provide specific data-latency figures.
For an operator, the relevant question is how quickly an update becomes available to a connected application and how reliably that application processes it.
Integration also requires decisions about data mapping, access permissions and which system should be treated as authoritative when information differs between platforms.
The practical test is simple: does a dispatcher stop re-keying the same information, and can they trust that the receiving system shows the latest version?
