What Aviation Safety Technologies does

Aviation Safety Technologies (AST) is a Chicago-based private company that operates ABARnet, an AI-enabled cloud platform providing real-time, objective Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) to the commercial aviation industry. The platform captures data from onboard aircraft sensors during landing to scientifically measure wheel braking coefficient and runway friction, replacing decades-old subjective pilot reports and manual airfield inspections with physics-validated sensor measurements. Core products include ABARs (real-time braking friction reports), Friction Forecasts (AI-driven predictions of runway conditions 30-90 minutes ahead using per-runway ML models), and Hard-Brake Landing reports (anomaly detection identifying runway hotspots with abnormally high braking demand). The platform is aircraft-agnostic, supporting Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, and Bombardier fleets, with 2,200-2,400+ aircraft reporting into a database of 25M+ analyzed landings.

AST's business model is subscription-based with two distinct revenue mechanics: fleet-tiered annual subscriptions for airlines tied to fleet size and number of reporting aircraft, and nominal per-landing fees for airports that can be embedded into existing landing fee structures. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting the six largest U.S. carriers, major airport operators, and air traffic control stakeholders, with marketing amplified by FAA and Transport Canada regulatory endorsements. Distribution is fully cloud-based with no hardware requirements, supported by free APIs that integrate ABARnet data into airline and airport operational systems in standard RCAM, FICON, and NOTAM formats.

The company was founded around 2008 following the 2005 Chicago Midway runway excursion and is a portfolio company of Dillon Kane Group. AST has secured regulatory validation from the FAA (Advisory Circular AC 91-79B, Aug 2023), Transport Canada (AC 700-060, Feb 2022), and ASTM International (Standard E3266, 2020), and in November 2025 formally petitioned the FAA to mandate wider ABAR adoption. The company is incorporated as Aviation Safety Technologies, LLC with 1-10 employees.

Name

Aviation Safety Technologies

Legal name

Aviation Safety Technologies, LLC

Website

https://aviationsafetytechnologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aviation Safety Technologies operates ABARnet, an AI-enabled cloud platform that delivers real-time Aircraft Braking Action Reports and predictive runway friction forecasts to airlines, airports, pilots, and air traffic controllers, replacing subjective pilot reports with objective sensor-based measurements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aviation Runway Safety Software

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Airport Operations (48811)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

NDT/Inspection & Testing Services (Aviation) (IMABALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Avionics Software, Certification & Safety-Critical Systems (DO-178/DO-254) (IMABAFAK)

Keywords

• Runway friction measurement
• Aircraft braking reports
• Aviation safety analytics
• Runway condition monitoring
• Friction forecasting software

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. ABARnet Subscription Service: Cloud-based subscription service for airlines and airports. Airlines pay subscription fees for access to all ABARs across the entire ABARnet network with broad visibility across operating regions. Early adopters eligible for fee discounts. Airport subscriptions may include nominal per-landing fees added to existing landing fees.
2. Fleet-Based Pricing: Tier-based subscription fees tied to fleet size with modifications based on number of aircraft reporting into the ABARnet network. Supports diverse fleet configurations including Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, and Bombardier aircraft.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aviation Safety Technologies operates ABARnet, an AI-enabled cloud-based platform that ingests data from aircraft onboard sensors to generate real-time Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs), AI-driven Friction Forecasts predicting runway conditions 30–180 minutes ahead, and Hard-Brake Landing reports identifying runway hotspots. The aircraft-agnostic platform is sold on a subscription basis to commercial airlines, airports, and air traffic control stakeholders, with reports distributed in standard industry formats (RCAM, FICON, NOTAM) via browser UI and APIs.

Product overview

ABARnet is a unified cloud-based Runway Uptime Platform consisting of interconnected services built around Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs). The core ABARs provide real-time braking friction measurements from aircraft sensors, which are supplemented by Friction Forecasts (AI-powered predictions of runway conditions 30-180 minutes ahead) and Hard-Brake Landing reports (identifying runway hotspots where braking demand is abnormally high). The platform operates across Boeing, Airbus, and other aircraft manufacturers, delivering reports in standard industry formats (RCAMs, FICONs, NOTAMs) via browser UI and APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ABARnet: AI-enabled runway uptime platform that uses aircraft braking data to provide real-time runway condition reports, friction forecasts, and hard-brake landing analysis.

Products and services

• ABARnet Runway Uptime Platform AI-enabled cloud-based platform that uses aircraft braking data to provide real-time runway condition insights, friction forecasts, and hard-brake landing reports to airports, airlines, pilots, and air traffic controllers. The platform is aircraft-agnostic (Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier) and distributes reports in RCAM, FICON, and NOTAM formats via browser UI and APIs.
• Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) Real-time, physics-validated reports of actual braking performance experienced during landings, providing objective tire-to-runway friction measurements that replace subjective pilot reports and manual airfield inspections. Distributed to pilots on approach, air traffic control, airport operations, and airline operations centers.
• Friction Forecasts AI-driven predictive service that forecasts runway braking friction 30–180 minutes ahead using historical landing data, weather forecasts, and machine learning models for each individual runway. Enables airports and airlines to plan treatments, schedule inspections, and return runways to service faster.
• Hard-Brake Landing (HBL) Reports Analysis reports identifying runway segments where pilots applied abnormally high braking force (≥1400 PSI on both main gears for 3+ seconds), pinpointing potential surface degradation hotspots before safety or operations are compromised. Provides airports with early warning to act before operations are disrupted.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25M+ landings analyzed in database
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vaisala: Vaisala provides road and aviation weather and surface-condition sensors, including runway friction measurement systems used by airports worldwide. It is the closest direct competitor to AST in delivering objective runway surface condition data to aviation operators.
• ASFT (Airport Surface Friction Tester): ASFT manufactures continuous friction measuring equipment (CFME) used by airports to test runway surface conditions, the incumbent hardware-based approach to the runway friction problem AST addresses with sensor-data analytics.
• Findlay Irvine: Findlay Irvine supplies runway friction measurement devices and surface condition sensors to airports globally, competing with AST in providing the underlying measurement inputs that feed runway condition reporting.
• Halliday Technologies: Halliday Technologies produces runway surface friction testing equipment used for airport condition assessments, an adjacent approach to the data-based ABAR methodology that AST promotes.

Broad incumbents

• Jeppesen (Boeing): Jeppesen, a Boeing subsidiary, supplies flight operations data, performance tools, and airport information services to commercial airlines globally. Its broad aviation data footprint makes it a logical incumbent that could bundle runway condition analytics into existing airline contracts.
• Honeywell Aerospace: Honeywell Aerospace manufactures avionics, sensors, and safety systems for commercial aircraft and has the onboard data access and airline relationships to compete with or partner around AST's ABARnet platform.
• Collins Aerospace (RTX): Collins Aerospace provides avionics, flight deck systems, and information management for airlines and airports, including surface and weather data products. Its end-to-end portfolio and ownership of FlightAware position it as a broad incumbent in aviation data and safety.
• SITA: SITA is a global IT and communications specialist serving airports and airlines, providing operational, passenger-processing, and airfield data services. It is a broad incumbent in airport-side digital infrastructure relevant to AST's runway management use cases.

Emerging players

• ForeFlight (Garmin): ForeFlight, owned by Garmin, provides flight planning, weather, and operational data apps widely used by commercial and business aviation crews. It overlaps with AST on aviation data delivery to pilots, though it does not yet focus on braking/runway condition analytics.
• FlightAware (RTX): FlightAware provides real-time flight tracking and aviation data feeds to airlines, airports, and ATC. Its data infrastructure and recent integration with Collins Aerospace position it as an emerging player in operational analytics adjacent to AST's sensor-driven runway insights.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aviation Safety Technologies