Lukas Jankauskas, the CEO of vAMSYS has shared exclusive news with us about their recent release of vAMSYS version 5, a major update to the already popular virtual airline platform. The update is now available in all virtual airlines that are being run on vAMSYS.
What is vAMSYS?
For those unaware of the large community of virtual airlines, vAMSYS, or Virtual Airline Management System, is a major virtual airline platform, offering the user interface, route management, aircraft and airport management in a single place, easing up the workload for the virtual airline’s staff, and making a single, well-known UI that is easy to use.
Updates to vAMSYS
Lukas makes it clear that the current vAMSYS v3, which was released already back in 2020, is getting older and a lot of limitations appeared with the system, thus, the ultimate decision of making vAMSYS v5, which still isn’t the final version of the airline platform, is going to see the light of the world.
Among many backend improvements, like improved speeds, and stability, it lays a new foundation to the already trendy platform. Whilst it doesn’t come with that many shiny new features, many improvements will be seen from the airline staff side.
Customisation and Personalisation
vAMSYS v5 is more customisable now, with the Phoenix dashboard (the pilot UI) now being completely rearrangeable, with theme colour overrides, and even dark mode. This also applies to the ACARS download page and the automated e-mails that are being sent to the pilots. “A lot of focus in v5 is about giving VAs more control over their identity and branding on the platform – VAs can tailor more parts of vAMSYS to better their style and needs, instead of relying on pre-set templates or content. Said Lukas.
The aircraft fleet can now include individual aircraft images and airports can have their own pilot briefings. Overall, the customizability is easier compared to the previous vAMSYS v3.
Improved Route Management
The route management system has received major updates as well, with the “pair and route” completely replaced in this new version. This system should be more flexible, and the new VDS (Virtual Dispatch System) can now bulk edit routes, copy them and in general manage data in easier manner.
Smarter Data Entry and Management
Lukas mentioned that the data management should now be more intuitive. Version five automatically standardizes input formats, and data importers are also more forgiving.
Improvements for Virtual Pilots
We have mostly talked about the improvements done to the backend of the entire system. There are also changes that are going to affect the pilots the most, including the improved user interface and even more engaging features.
First and foremost is the better Simbrief integration and load management. This means that the weight and fuel calculations are now more accurate, helping with realistic flight planning. Virtual airlines can also adjust the values for passengers, luggage, cargo and other form of values that can be found in an aircraft.
For the first time, vAMSYS now also includes a first-party Discord Bot, which will ease up the work of handling pilot usernames and sending out notifications. More features are planned for this bot later in the development process.
Lastly, it has been made easier to create consecutive flight tours in the events system, and a new badge system has been added. These badges are awarded to pilots when they meet specific conditions.
Lukas says that for pilots, the biggest changes will be felt in the individual virtual airlines, due to better customizability. You can also find more information about vAMSYS on their website here.
Feel free to join our Discord server to share your feedback on the article, screenshots from your flights or just chat with the rest of the team and the community. Click here to join the server.