March 12, 2018

Tom Breen, Vice President of Vector Airport Systems, will be attending this year’s 90th Annual AAAE Conference & Exposition in San Diego, CA from Sunday, April 15th – Wednesday, April 18th, 2018.  Tom will be available to answer any questions and for live demonstrations of the Vector System while at the conference. 

Vector provides a full suite of products and services for the airport community including our camera-based, automated aircraft identification and counting system (Vantage), our turn-key automated aircraft fee billing & collections system (PlanePass), and V-NOMS, our easy-to-use noise and operations management system.

Please feel free to contact Tom directly at 781-983-1741, or by email at TomB@vector-us.com to set up a demonstration and see how our system can benefit your airport.

For more information about the 90th Annual AAAE Conference & Exposition in San Diego, CA, please visit their website here: https://www.aaae.org/aaae/180501/Default.aspx.

November 06, 2017

Vector Airport Systems, the leading provider of automated aircraft identification (Vantage) and landing fee billing and collection services (PlanePass), was featured in the November 6th edition of Airport Improvement Magazine. Here's the article:

​

Sonoma County Boosts Airfield Revenue With Automated Aircraft ID System

​

The Sonoma County Airport (KSTS) is one of 14 airports to use PlanePass, Vector's automated aircraft fee billing and collection system, which allows airports to successfully identify and bill aircraft landing fees through Vector's fully automated back-end billing system. 

July 18, 2017

Santa Rosa, California - Vector Airport Systems, the leading supplier of airport automated aircraft identification, aircraft fee billing, and noise and operations management systems (NOMS), is pleased to announce that the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (KSTS) has significantly increased landing fee revenue collections after deploying PlanePass, Vector’s full-service aircraft fee billing & collection solution. Vector installed PlanePass in May of 2016 in response to the Airport’s concern that some billable aircraft were being missed by their current landing fee process, particularly at night, when operations staff is limited.

Airport Manager Jon Stout saw the need to streamline their manual billing process. After the installation of Vector’s PlanePass, Sonoma County Airport has gained increased visibility into their aircraft traffic, is realizing more revenue, and can easily audit the entire process – all while eliminating the need for airport staff involvement in the billing process.

“In the last 10 months, Vector has enabled us to collect up to twice as much landing fee revenue compared to the same time period last year,” commented Jon Stout, Airport Manager at Sonoma County Airport. “Vector has nearly eliminated the staff hours that used to be required. The identification and operations data provided through the web-based Airport Portal gives us a clear picture of our operations.”

“It’s great to hear concrete success stories like this,” commented Pete Coleton, President of Vector Airport Systems. “Being able to increase the airport’s revenue while reducing the labor required to bill & collect fees is a great example of the efficiencies PlanePass was designed to bring to airports like KSTS.”

​

Click here to see full article

May 07, 2017

Tom Breen, Vice President of Vector Airport Systems, will be speaking at this year’s AAAE Conference & Exposition in Long Beach, CA on Sunday, May 7th2017.  Tom will be speaking along with other aviation industry experts during the session: Gathering Airport Activity Data – Options & Challenges from 3:15 PM – 4:45 PM.

​

Airport activity numbers are used in a wide variety of applications from forecasting as part of a master plan, to analyzing pavement needs, evaluating capacity needs, funding decisions, and many others. Activity data from an airport with an air traffic control tower (ATCT) is readily available, however, for the non-towered airports data can be hard to come by. The presentation will identify the various sources of airport activity data, the pros and cons of the sources, and how they can be leveraged to gain a better understanding of both the level and type of activity at non-towered airports.

​

With over 25 years in the aviation industry and a focus on aircraft tracking technologies, Tom has a unique perspective on the challenges behind gathering accurate airside operations data, specifically at non-towered and General Aviation airports. Tom will share how Vector has tackled the aircraft identification problem with VANTAGE, Vector’s purpose-built aircraft ID system and how other systems in the market stack up to meet this challenge.

​

The session will be moderated by Alex Gertsen, C.M., Director, Airports and Ground Infrastructure, National Business Aviation Association

​

For more information about the 89th Annual AAAE Conference & Exposition in Long Beach, CA, please visit their site here: https://www.aaae.org/aaae/Annual2017/Default.aspx

September 15, 2016

Tucson, Arizona – Vector has successfully deployed another in our 40+ VANTAGE Automated Aircraft ID Systems at Tucson International Airport to provide airport staff with highly accurate aircraft ops information. Tucson International (TUS) is a busy part 139 airport with a wide mix of traffic split between commercial, military, general aviation, and cargo. Many of the aircraft operating at TUS were invisible to radar-based flight tracking systems so, to get a more complete picture of the operations, the Tucson Airport Authority (TAA) selected Vector’s VANTAGE aircraft ID system which includes day/night camera-based aircraft identification fused together with FAA radar-based flight tracks. The result is as complete a picture as is possible today with any technology.

​

The Vector VANTAGE installation at TUS is a true testament to how capable and robust the Vector technologies are especially considering the heat, dust, blazing sun, and aggressive equipment-eating wildlife. This project proves that the Vector VANTAGE system has wide applicability at almost any size airport and in any climate.

June 01, 2016

Dallas, Texas – Vector has successfully deployed another PLANEPASS system for Dallas Love Field in support of Customs Fee Billing/Collection. At one of the largest Vector client airports, international GA arrivals are now automatically detected and billed using Vector’s proven PLANEPASS solution. The in-house Vector billing service team performs all the work, delivering Customs fee revenue automatically to the Airport.

July 06, 2015

Truckee, California - Vector Airport Systems, supplier of automated aircraft identification, landing fee billing, and noise and environmental monitoring systems, is pleased to announce that the Truckee Tahoe Airport elected to expand their existing 4-camera system aircraft identification system to 11 cameras.  The additional aircraft identification cameras allow the Airport to capture and identify arriving aircraft giving the airport the capability to identify both departures and arrivals.

​

The eleven-camera aircraft identification network is largest system Vector has installed and provides Truckee Airport with the ability to positively identify up to 99% of all aircraft operating at the airport.  The aircraft identification data is combined in Vector’s VNOMS software with flight track data from Truckee’s state-of-the-art multilateration surveillance system, giving the Airport an unprecedented vision into the who, what, and where of aircraft operations at the Truckee Airport.

​

"The Truckee Airport Board of Directors was impressed by the data available through the Vector system for departing aircraft and made the decision to acquire more cameras in order to achieve the same level of identification for arrivals." said Hardy Bullock, Director of Aviation and Community Services at Truckee Airport.

“We felt like we were missing operations captures because of the limited original scope of the system.  The fleet at Truckee consists mostly of small piston aircraft that are difficult to identify any other way.  We were capturing departures but now we are able to identify both arrivals and departures." said Mike Cooke, Aviation & Community Services Manager at Truckee Airport. “The additional seven cameras closed the gaps and enhanced our ability to monitor compliance with the existing voluntary curfew.”

​

"I can safely say that Truckee Tahoe Airport now has the most accurate and complete aircraft operations data of any general aviation airport in the U.S., possibly the world”  commented Pete Coleton, President of Vector Airport Systems. "Our project at TRK is a great example of how Vector works closely with our clients to constantly improve our  technology to help the Airport gain new capabilities and better serve its community.”

July 25, 2014

Vector Airport Systems, the leading provider of automated aircraft identification, landing fee billing and collection services, was featured in July 25th edition of Airport Noise Report. Here's the article:

​

Volume 26, Number 23

Noise Monitoring

TRUCKEE-TAHOE SELECTS NEW VNOMS

SYSTEM THAT IDENTIFIES GA AIRCRAFT

​

Truckee-Tahoe is the third airport this year to select the new “VNOMS” noise and operations management system, which allows airports to track and identify general aviation aircraft not identifiable by other NOMS systems.

​

Click to read more

June 30, 2014

Vector is pleased to announce that their VNOMS solution for airport noise monitoring and common operational display has been selected by the Truckee Tahoe Airport District after an open and competitive process involving several bidders.

​

The Vector VNOMS system is the only system in the industry that leverages the latest surveillance technologies, including FAA NextGen, multilateration and flight plan data, along with Vectors on-field Aircraft Identification Cameras to help airports track and monitor aircraft operations, manage noise complaints and generate complete and accurate aircraft operation reports.

​

"After an extensive search and competitive procurement process, we are excited to have chosen Vector Airport Systems as our vendor for the Airports' new NOMS solution." said Hardy Bullock, Director of Aviation and Community Services at Truckee Airport. "Over the past ten years, Truckee Airport has implemented the latest in surveillance and operations management tools. Vector's VNOMS will allow the airport to eliminate many of the current data silos and replace them with a truly integrated solution.  VNOMS will make it easier for our staff to address situations and improve the accuracy of operations reporting, doing so more efficiently and at a lower operating cost than ever before."

​

VNOMS integrates the airport's existing multilateration surveillance system, Vector's camera-based Aircraft Identification System, Vector's proprietary aircraft owner database, and other data sources to provide the most accurate common operational picture available to airports today. "We're thrilled that the Truckee Tahoe Airport District selected Vector's VNOMS solution as its NextGen NOMS application." commented Pete Coleton, President of Vector. "Truckee is joining a growing list of airports that are choosing simpler, higher-capability, lower-cost systems that not only improve airport efficiency, but also reinforce the airport's commitment to being a good neighbor."

October 01, 2013

Vector Airport Systems is pleased to announce that Thomas Breen has joined the company as Vice President of Sales & Product Strategy

​

Based in the company’s Herndon Virginia office, Breen will be responsible for leading the company’s domestic and international sales as well as leading new product strategy. Vector installs and operates automated landing fee collection and aircraft tracking systems for airports worldwide.

​

Mr. Breen has over 24 years of airport and aviation experience, most recently as the Director of Business Development for the Commercial Aviation Services group at Exelis Inc. Through his career, Breen has been involved in the development of new software and systems in the airport noise, surveillance, and landing fee billing fields and holds several related patents. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

​

"We are excited about adding Tom to the management team at Vector," commented Pete Coleton, President of Vector, "Mr. Breen's experience in bringing new technologies to the airport market will help Vector reach new clients and help guide future product development."

​

"Vector provides a fully-automated solution for airports looking to maximize landing fee revenue collection while eliminating airport labor", said Breen. "I am looking forward to joining the Vector team and finding new clients and applications for Vector products and services."

July 01, 2011

Since July 2011, Vector Airport Systems' full-service Landing Fee Management product, PLANEPASS, has provided Santa Monica Airport (KSMO) located in Santa Monica, CA, with significantly enhanced airport activity tracking using VANTAGE and PLANEPASS fully outsourced landing fee management which has helped maximize revenues and increase airport security/awareness.

​

Using three overlapping, automated technologies, VANTAGE automatically identifies 99+% of all aircraft operating at the airport - 400%+ more aircraft identified than the radar-based tracking system also used by SMO*. Not only does this significant increase in aircraft identifications improve the landing fee billing process but it also helps the airport staff manage their noise/community issues more effectively.

​

"Out-sourcing our Landing Fee Management to Vector has allowed SMO to automate what was a labor intensive and time consuming process especially for the onsite police who were constantly interrupting their duties to manually gather tail numbers," said Stelios Makrides, SMO's Airport Operations Manager. "With Vector handling all aspects of airport landing fee process, SMO has been able to refocus airport personnel on our main mission, while the additional data provided by Vector's Aircraft ID system has added additional capabilities for our noise management and security programs."

​

"Vector is excited that our VANTAGE Aircraft ID system and PLANEPASS billing solution have proven so dramatically effective at Santa Monica and has helped the airport staff and police do their jobs more effectively." said Pete Coleton, Vector's President. "We have found repeatedly at many airports similar to Santa Monica that radar-based and transponder-based aircraft ID systems cannot match the results of our 3-technology aircraft ID system whether it's used for billing, noise management, or security. Vector's Aircraft ID systems and full-service landing fee billing/collection solution are a perfect fit for the hundreds of larger GA airports and Commercial Airports with significant GA traffic that are not well served by more costly, less effective radar-based systems currently offered in the market."