BELTSVILLE, Md. & SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McMurdo Group, a global leader in end-to-end search and rescue and maritime domain awareness solutions, today announced that its Kannad Survival Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) are being integrated throughout Southwest Airlines' (NYSE: LUV) fleet of 636 Boeing (NYSE: BA) 737 aircraft.
ELTs, which are a key component of passenger and crew safety in the event of an emergency, enable first responders to locate the aircraft as soon as possible and potentially save more lives. Survival ELTs are removable from the aircraft and are stowed to facilitate usage by crew members in emergency situations. The ELTs were provided by McMurdo’s aviation partner, Aviall Services, Inc.
McMurdo’s Kannad ELTs are already used by some of the world’s largest aircraft and airline brands including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Pilatus, British Airways, United Airlines and China Airlines. The high-performance distress beacons provide the most innovative technology available including pin-point positioning and location data for optimal rescue response time.
“For over 25 years, Kannad has provided aircraft manufacturers and airlines with high-performing and highly reliable search and rescue technologies providing redundant transmission and GPS,” said Jean-Yves Courtois, CEO of McMurdo Group. “We are proud to be the search and rescue ELT provider entrusted with providing critical, timely location identification of Southwest's aircraft in the event of an emergency.”
In a typical search and rescue scenario an emergency signal from an ELT or distress beacon is relayed via satellite to Mission Control Centers and Rescue Coordination Centers for eventual rescue team deployment. This search and rescue ecosystem (known as COSPAS-SARSAT) has helped to save over 37,000 lives since 1982. McMurdo is the industry’s only provider of this end-to-end search and rescue solution from aviation/maritime/military/personal distress beacons to satellite ground station communications to rescue response solutions.
McMurdo Group is a global leader in search and rescue and maritime domain awareness solutions. A division of Orolia (NYSE Alternext Paris – FR0010501015 – ALORO), McMurdo Group brings together 140 combined years of experience by consolidating proven Boatracs, Kannad, McMurdo and Techno-Sciences, Inc. brands into the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of life-saving and tracking technologies that save time, costs and lives. Airbus, Boeing, the British Royal Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, NASA and others are among the hundreds of aviation, maritime, government and military customers around the world using McMurdo Group distress beacons, satellite connectivity infrastructure, monitoring/positioning software and emergency response management solutions. Established in January 2014, McMurdo Group is based in Sophia Antipolis, France with additional offices in France (Guidel), the U.S. (San Diego, Washington D.C.) and the U.K. (Portsmouth).
About Southwest Airlines Co.
In its 44th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by nearly 46,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually. Southwest and wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways operate more than 3,600 flights a day, serving 93 destinations across the United States and five additional countries. Subject to government approvals, Southwest service to San Jose, Costa Rica (from Baltimore/Washington), begins in March 2015; service to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (from Orange County/Santa Ana), begins in June 2015; and service to Belize City begins in October 2015 (from Houston (Hobby).
