Jeppesen
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| Jeppesen | |
|---|---|
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Centennial, Colorado |
| Key people | Elrey Borge Jeppesen, founder |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Products | Charts Software |
| Employees | 3,000 |
| Parent | Boeing Commercial Airplanes |
| Website | Jeppesen.com |
Jeppesen (also known as Jeppesen Sanderson) is an American company that specialises in aeronautical charting and navigation services, flight planning, pilot supplies and aviation training. The company is a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Jeppesen also publishes related software, some of which is used on its electronic flight bag product line.
Jeppesen is headquartered near Centennial, Colorado with offices around the world including Neu Isenburg (Germany), Crawley (United Kingdom) and Canberra (Australia). The company employs approximately 3,000 people.[1]
Jeppesen's charts are often referred to by pilots as Jepp charts or just simply Jepps, due to the chart's de facto popularity.
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[edit] History
The company was founded in 1934 by Elrey Borge Jeppesen, a pilot himself working for Varney Airlines, who was the first to make aeronautical charts for pilots to navigate in flight. The information he collected and the charts he drew were at first only for personal use, but fellow pilots quickly saw the benefits of using these charts and Jeppesen started selling copies of his chart book for 10 dollars. Other pilots started to collect data on their own routes and handing this to Jeppesen for him to include in his navigation book.[citation needed]
United Airlines, the airline Jeppesen worked for in the late 1930s after Varney airlines had merged with several other companies to form United Airlines, was one of the first airlines to start using Jeppesen's charts. After a while the chart business started taking up so much of Jeppesen's time that he quit his job as a Captain and became dedicated to making charts.[citation needed]
In 1941, Jeppesen moved the company from Salt Lake City, Utah to Denver, Colorado.[2]
In 1947, Jeppesen collaborated with the Federal Aviation Administration to introduce standard instrument approach procedures and to establish the National Flight Data Center.[3]
In 1974, Jeppesen & Company and Sanderson Films merged to form Jeppesen Sanderson, Inc.[2]
On October 2, 2000, Jeppesen was acquired by Boeing.[3]
[edit] Acquisitions
- In the 1980's, Jeppesen acquired Bottlang Airfield Manual Company, a maker of VFR approach charts for Europe, and Icarus, a creator of data analysis reports.[3]
- In 1989, Jeppesen purchased DataPlan, a flight planning and weather services company. Jeppesen's current President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Van Tine, formerly worked for this company.[4]
- Between 1990 and 1995, acquisitions included TannGuide, which became JeppGuide, APU which became part of Jeppesen OpsData, and IAP (International Aviation Publishers) which created maintenance training manuals.[3]
- In 1996, acquired MentorPlus, a maker of aviation training, moving map technologies and PC-based flight planning.[3]
- In 2000, Jeppesen purchased Nobeltec, a Portland, OR based company that provides marine navigation products such as navigation software and charts. This same year Jeppesen itself was acquired by The Boeing Company.[3]
- In 2004, Jeppesen acquired the ailing SBS International Inc, a New York, NY based provider of crew scheduling software. Jeppesen acquired SBS International through an arrangement with The Boeing Company, which had purchased SBS in 2001.
- In 2006, Boeing acquired Carmen Systems AB, a provider of crew scheduling and disruption management software. The company was headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and had approximately 300 employees.[5] Jeppesen quickly moved to consolidate Carmen and the former SBS International's product offerings and operations.
- In 2007, Boeing concluded its purchase of C-Map, Inc., a leading provider of digital maritime cartography, data services and other navigational information. C-Map became a part of Jeppesen’s marine division. It has operations in Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Australia and the United States.[6]
[edit] Allegations against Jeppesen
According to an article that appeared in October, 2006, in The New Yorker, the CIA is a Jeppesen customer. The article claims that the company has provided navigational and logistics support to the agency's extraordinary rendition program.[7] The article says Jeppesen provided "flight plans, clearance to fly over other countries, hotel reservations, and ground-crew arrangements" to the CIA. According to the article, an unnamed former employee quoted Bob Overby, Jeppesen's managing director, as saying at a meeting, "We do all of the extraordinary renditions flights—you know, the torture flights. Let's face it, some of those flights end up that way...It certainly pays well."
On November 16, 2006 Amnesty International staged a demonstration in front of the company's International Trip and Flight Planning Office (known as "Jeppesen International Trip Planning") in San Jose, California to protest their involvement in the rendition program.[8] In December, 2006 representatives of the South Bay Mobilization for Peace and Justice group asked the San Jose City Council to remove a Jeppesen banner from a city skating rink. The group also holds a weekly vigil at the company's offices.[9]
On May 30, 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union sued Jeppesen on behalf of five plaintiffs who had been tortured in Morroco, Egypt, and a United States base in Afghanistan. The suit alleged that, since 2001, Jeppesen flew at least seventy flights for the CIA's secret extraordinary rendition program, transporting prisoners overseas to be tortured.[10] The suit was dismissed in February, 2008 on a motion from the United States government, on theory that proceeding with the case would reveal state secrets and endanger relations with other nations that had cooperated.[11][12] As of the time of dismissal, the plaintiffs were expected to appeal.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Jeppesen: About Us: Today. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ a b Jeppesen: About Us: Background. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ a b c d e f Jeppesen: About Us: Timeline. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ Jeppesen: About Us: Management Biographies. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ Boeing to Acquire Carmen Systems. Boeing News Release. March 3, 2006.
- ^ Boeing Concludes Purchase of C-Map to Grow Jeppesen Marine Business. Boeing News Release. January 30, 2007.
- ^ Jane Mayer. "Outsourcing: The C.I.A.’s Travel Agent", The New Yorker, October 30, 2006.
- ^ Demonstration at Jeppesen Corporation in San Jose, California. Amnesty International. November 17, 2006.
- ^ Silicon Valley News Notes: Icecapade. Metro Newspapers. December 13, 2006.
- ^ Henry Weinstein. "Boeing subsidiary accused of aiding CIA torture flights", Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2007.
- ^ News Services. "U.S. Asks for Dismissal Of Lawsuit on Secret Flights", Washington Post, Saturday, October 20, 2007.
- ^ a b Federal judge dismisses suit over torture flights. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
