Episode 87: Data Is Aviation’s Superpower: Portside’s Role in Flight Department Success

In this episode, host Lindsay Dyer sits down with Robyn Carpenter of Portside to explore how technology is transforming the way flight departments operate. Robyn brings more than 25 years of experience, starting in Taco Bell’s flight department and now helping aviation leaders leverage data and software to stay efficient, compliant, and valuable. She shares how platforms like PFM, BART, Avianis, FOSS, and Horizon give teams the tools they need to manage scheduling, fuel, and maintenance with confidence.  Chapters Breakdown   00:00 – Introduction & Welcome 01:30 – Meet Robyn Carpenter & her aviation journey 04:00 – From whiteboards to web-based scheduling tools 06:15 – How tech adoption transformed flight departments 08:30 – Why data is now a hot topic in aviation 10:30 – Spend management, savings & fiscal responsibility 11:30 – The struggle: complex reporting vs useful insights 13:00 – Portside’s ecosystem: PFM, BART, Avianis, FOSS, Horizon 14:30 – The Owner Portal & Power BI dashboards 16:00 – Scheduling as the hub: connecting maintenance, safety & trip services 18:00 – The power of two-way integrations 20:00 – Fuel pricing, maintenance & efficiency examples 22:00 – Web-based request systems & reducing email overload 24:00 – Business vs personal use tracking & audit trails 26:00 – Moving from collecting data → making decisions 28:00 – Real story: how Taco Bell flight department stayed alive 31:00 – Visibility, leadership & aligning with corporate goals 33:00 – What’s next: mobile apps, passenger booking, AI & predictive maintenance 36:00 – Advice for schedulers & managers on adopting tech 38:00 – Final takeaways: data leverage, not burden 40:00 – Outro & how to connect with Robyn Carpenter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices