Abstract:
A system for exchanging messages between crews stationed on a vehicle and staff or 3 rd  parties stationed within at least one or more travel points. A vehicle mail server has a shared e-mail account that is addressable with a unique vehicle attribute and accessible by the vehicle crew. The shared e-mail account is also addressable with a trip identifier alias. A central mail server also has a shared e-mail account that is associated with one of the travel points, and accessible by crew deployed thereto. The shared e-mail account is also addressable with one or more trip identification and status aliases. An association between the trip identifier alias and the vehicle attribute, as well as between the trip identification and status alias and the travel point is dynamically defined on the central mail server.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    1. Technical Field 
         [0004]    The present disclosure relates generally to communications systems, including those for use by crew members of passenger vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to electronic mail-based aircraft and ground crew messaging. 
         [0005]    2. Related Art 
         [0006]    At the individual aircraft level, conducting flight operations requires the coordinated efforts of numerous personnel. These include flight crew, which broadly encompasses those on board during the flight to operate the aircraft, and includes flight deck positions and cabin positions on passenger flights. Additionally, there are ground crews that service and maintain the aircraft in between flights, as well as manage various ground-based operations at airports to ensure the movement of passengers and/or cargo. Airlines that operate a large fleet of aircraft must coordinate numerous flights across multiple departing and destination airports around the globe with the operation center of the airline, with air traffic control, and with national aviation authorities. 
         [0007]    One widely deployed data communications system for this purpose is known as ACARS, or Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System. The ACARS infrastructure provides bidirectional air-to-ground digital communications via VHF, HF, and satellite transmissions. Most ACARS messages have a structured format, but it also possible to include a free text field within the ACARS message. This free text field has been used by In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) applications to support cabin crew text messaging with ground personnel. 
         [0008]    During the course of a flight, the ground crew and airline operations centers communicate with the flight crew as needed. With a continued reliance on the ACARS infrastructure, messaging applications built into existing cabin in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems could be used to send messages to the ground crew and airline operation centers by accessing the ACARS Management Unit (MU). Bandwidth of ACARS transmissions is limited, and in some MU installations, such access by IFE systems may have been denied in order to conserve available bandwidth. In other MU installations, such access by IFE systems may have been denied to increase the security of the flight deck, by segregating IFE systems from networks shared by the flight deck. In either case, some airlines are no longer able to rely on ACARS as a universal solution across their entire fleet for crew messaging. 
         [0009]    There are several shortcomings associated with an ACARS-based crew messaging system. In particular, a flight crew must physically access a fixed terminal at various locations around the aircraft to perform a specific fixed task. The remaining workload must be completed with separate devices, which may not necessarily be proximate to these fixed terminals. Furthermore, information must be transferred manually from the separate devices to the fixed terminals. Finally, an ACARS based crew messaging system does not provide any support for MIME attachments, such as images. These shortcomings, coupled with the uneven deployment of ACARS based messaging solutions across an airline fleet, create operational inefficiencies within the airlines. 
         [0010]    Due to these inefficiencies there is a need in the art for an improved crew messaging system that eliminates reliance on the existing ACARS infrastructure. In particular, there is a need for supporting both on-board and ground mobility, capable of handling all types of data files. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an electronic mail-based vehicle crew messaging system as contemplated by the present disclosure. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0011]    A vehicle crew messaging system that utilizes electronic mail (e-mail) aliases to address a vehicle using dynamic trip assignments is disclosed. Additionally, the dynamic configuration of an onboard portable electronic device (PED), such as a Tablet or Smartphone, to allow access to the vehicle&#39;s email account is also disclosed. 
         [0012]    One embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a system for exchanging messages between crews stationed on a vehicle and staff or 3 rd  parties located in at least one or more travel points. The system may comprise a vehicle mail server computer system that is deployed on each vehicle, and a central mail server computer system that is deployed remotely from the vehicles. The vehicle mail server computer system may include a vehicle shared electronic mail account that is at least partially addressable with a vehicle designator unique to the vehicle and may further be at least partially addressable with various trip identifier aliases for the duration of the trip. 
         [0013]    Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to the flexibility of the messaging system to support many types of existing user devices, including any combination of (1) personal PEDs on aircraft, (2) shared PEDs on aircraft, (3) IFE terminals on aircraft, (4) personal PEDs on ground, (5) shared PEDs on ground, (6) terminal or kiosk on ground. Further, the ground terminals or kiosks currently supporting ACARS on some aircraft may be modified to work with the messaging system, or new ground terminals or kiosks may be deployed to support the messaging system that are wholly separate from those currently dedicated to ACARS support. Further, onboard PEDs that support cabin/IFE management including but not limited to duty free sales, food and drink, comfort services, passenger personalized services, cabin lighting, cabin announcements, and entertainment controls may be modified to support the messaging system or new onboard PEDS may be deployed to support the messaging system. 
         [0014]    Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to flexibility of the messaging system to operate over any combination of satcom systems without modification or support from the satcom provider(s). Further, the messaging system dynamically selects the least cost of many satcom routes during outages of one or more satcom routes. Further, recognizing the inherently higher availability of the multi-satcom channel messaging system in contrast to the typically single satcom channel used to gather ACARS OOOI (Out from gate, Off the ground, On the ground, In to gate), the messaging system itself may be used to transfer OOOI events to ground systems that in turn can be used to update the aliases of the aircraft email address. 
         [0015]    Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to the processes used by the onboard flight crew to manage the shared inbox, including but not limited to manual inbox management and/or rules based inbox management which in turn may include moving and categorizing messages, creating alerts, or playing audible sounds based on keywords, addresses, attachments, or properties. Further, the system supports remote inbox management, for example from a ground based supervisor. 
         [0016]    Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a method for transmitting a message to crew members stationed on a vehicle. The method may include receiving the message on a central mail server computer system. The message may have a destination address incorporating a trip identifier alias. There may also be a step of querying one or more databases for a destination vehicle shared mail account identifier, as well as a network address of a vehicle mail server computer system. The query may be based upon the trip identifier alias specified in the received message. The method may then proceed to receiving the destination vehicle shared mail account identifier and the network address of the vehicle mail server computer system on the central mail server computer system. A data communications link may be established to the vehicle mail server computer system with the received network address therefor. The method may also include relaying the message to a destination vehicle mail transport agent over the data communications link for delivery to a mail account that corresponds to the destination vehicle shared mail account identifier. An association between the trip identifier alias, and the destination vehicle shared mail account identifier and the network address of the vehicle mail server computer system, may be updated in response to changes in status of the vehicle as reported therefrom. 
         [0017]    Still another embodiment of the disclosure is a method for transmitting a message to crew members stationed at a fixed base travel point. The method may include receiving the message on a central mail server computer system. The message may have a destination address incorporating a trip identification and status alias. There may also be a step of querying one or more databases for a destination base shared mail account identifier from the trip identification and status alias. Additionally, the method may involve associating the message with a mail account corresponding to the destination base shared mail account identifier. An association between the trip identification and status aliases and the destination base shared mail account identifier may be updated in response to changes in status of a vehicle traversing the fixed base travel point as reported from the vehicle. 
         [0018]    The various embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an exemplary environment in which various embodiments of a system for exchanging messages among flight and ground crews in accordance with the present disclosure may be utilized; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the architecture of the system including its constituent modules/components; 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the various electronic mail aliases defined for flight crew recipients in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is a table showing example entries in an alias database that is utilized in the different embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing a MX record support for routing across a variety of satcom channels; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  is block diagram of the various electronic mail aliases defined for ground crew recipients in accordance with the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    The present disclosure is directed to an electronic mail-based vehicle crew messaging system that allows various mobile devices and terminal devices to communicate seamlessly. The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of the messaging systems and methods, and is not intended to represent the only form in which it can be developed or utilized. The description sets forth the features of the messaging system in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed with the present disclosure. It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first, second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such order or relationship between such entities. 
         [0027]    The diagram of  FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary aviation environment  10  in which various embodiments of the electronic mail-based crew messaging system may be implemented. The figure illustrates a passenger aircraft  12  that flies from one airport  14  to another while carrying passengers and cargo. The present disclosure contemplates a messaging system in which the crew on the aircraft  12 , also referred to as the flight crew, can communicate with the crew at the airport  14 , also referred to as the ground crew. In addition to the airline personnel at the airport  14 , there may be others at operations centers away from the airport  14 . 
         [0028]    The present disclosure sets forth the various features of the messaging system in a commercial aviation context, though it will be recognized by those having ordinary skill in the art that it may be implemented in other transportation contexts, such as rail (where the train is analogous to the aircraft  12 , and the stations are analogous to the airport  14 ), road, water and so on. In this regard, certain features will be referred to by aviation-specific terms, but these are not intended to be limiting, and other terms that may be more suitable for those alternative contexts may be readily substituted without departing from the present disclosure. However, for the sake of consistency, the aviation-specific terms will be used in describing the following preferred embodiments. 
         [0029]    In further detail, the aircraft  12  is equipped with an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system that includes an IFE server  16 . Installed at various locations around the cabin of the aircraft  12  are crew terminals  18 , including a first terminal  18   a , a second terminal  18   b , and a third terminal  18   c , each of which are connected to the IFE server  16  over a network connection  20 . The terminals  18  may include a general-purpose data processor that executes pre-programmed instructions to generate certain outputs in response to certain inputs. Thus, the terminals  18  are understood to include display devices as well as input devices for the crew to input text data and interact with a graphical user interface to various flight/cabin management applications, as well as the contemplated messaging applications that are the subject of the present disclosure. 
         [0030]    In addition to the stationary terminals  18 , flight crew members may be issued personal electronic devices (PEDs)  22  that have the same or similar functionality. The PED  22  may be a conventional mobile communications device such as a smartphone, a tablet, and the like that may be loaded with various software applications and have network connectivity. Via a graphical user interface, the crew member may input text data for a messaging application. Because the PED  22  is portable and intended to be readily available to the crew member regardless of the location within the cabin, it is understood to incorporate wireless data networking capabilities such as WiFi. As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the aircraft  12  accordingly incorporates a wireless access point  24  to which the PED  22  connects. In the illustrated embodiment, a first PED  22   a  is assigned to each aircraft  12  and is not moved from one to the other, while a second PED  22   b  may be assigned to a specific crew member and is thus moved from aircraft to aircraft per the crew member&#39;s work schedule. 
         [0031]    With continued reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, there is a vehicle mail server computer system, also more specifically referred to as an aircraft mail server  26 . The aforementioned terminals  18  and the PEDs  22  are understood to connect to the aircraft mail server  26  to manage the aircraft&#39;s electronic mail account. As will be described in further detail below, the aircraft mail server  26  is specific to the aircraft  12 , and may be designated by a unique identifier thereof, such as a tail sign or number  27 . In alternate embodiments, it may some other unique identification number for the vehicle, such as a VIN (vehicle identification number) or registration number. 
         [0032]    The aircraft mail server  26  may be any readily available, off-the-shelf e-mail mail transfer agent (MTA) such as sendmail. Along these lines, the client-side software application loaded on to the terminals  18  and the PEDs  22  can interoperate with such e-mail servers. One possible client application, also referenced in the art as a mail user agent (MUA)  28 , is Mozilla Thunderbird™. However, any other suitable e-mail client application may be substituted. 
         [0033]    Once the message is accepted by the aircraft mail server  26 , it is relayed to the ground. The present disclosure contemplates the use of satellite communications for transfer to a satcom provider mail server  30 , and so the aircraft  12  may be equipped with a satellite module  32  that can establish a data uplink  34  to a communications satellite  36 . The data uplink  34  may be Ku-band microwave transmissions. Furthermore, any suitable communications satellite  36 , such as Inmarsat or Iridium may be utilized. 
         [0034]    The data transmitted to the communications satellite  36  is relayed to the satcom service provider  38  that manages the aforementioned satcom provider mail server  30  for that satcom system. A data downlink  40  is established between the communications satellite  36  and the satcom service provider  38 . In another embodiment, the aircraft  12  is equipped with a cellular modem instead of or in addition to satellites. Further details regarding the satcom provider mail server  30  and its functionality will be considered more fully below. 
         [0035]    The satcom service provider  38  is separate from the airline information technology infrastructure  42  that includes, among other components, an airline mail server  44 . Each airline mail server  44  is configured with an account for each airport serviced by that airline. Generally, the airline mail server  44  receives electronic mail messages destined for the aforementioned ground crew members of the airline. The communications link between the satcom service provider  38  and the airline  42  may be over the Internet  46  or private network. 
         [0036]    As shown in the block diagram of  FIG. 2 , PEDs  22  may be provided to the ground crew. In some cases, such as a PED  22   c , may be specific to the airport  14 , and any number of the ground crew may utilize it during work shifts. Individually assigned PEDs, such as a PED  22   d , are also possible. Regardless of how the PED  22  is issued, it is understood to be loaded with a mail user agent client application that is capable of interoperating with the airline mail server  44 . Each ground PED  22   c  or  22   d  may connect to the airline mail server  44  via WiFi or cellular links. The WiFi link may be provided by airport IT  48  or by airline IT  42 . Each ground PED  22   c  or  22   d  may be configured with one or more airport mail accounts  74   a  or  74   b.    
         [0037]    The arrangement of the multiple mail servers  26 ,  30 , and  44  are presented by way of example only and not of limitation. That is, the segregation of different tasks and duties across these mail servers may be varied, with certain embodiments consolidating the functionality disclosed herein into one or more of the mail servers, while in other embodiments distributing the same functionality over multiple, additional mail servers. Those having ordinary skill in the art will be able to readily ascertain suitable IT infrastructure topologies for maximum efficiency and manageability. 
         [0038]    The various embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate providing flight crew with a shared e-mail account based on the aircraft identifier (e.g., the tail sign  27 ), and also providing ground crew with a shared e-mail account based on the airport  14  and the airline. The block diagram of  FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate the messaging architecture, in the context of an example implementation with a first aircraft  12   a  departing from a first airport  14   a  destined for a second airport  14   b  designated as a first flight  100 , and a second aircraft  12   b  departing from the second airport  14   b  destined for the first airport  14   a  designated as a second flight  200 . Further, the first aircraft  12   a  is uniquely identified by a tail sign  1 , and the second aircraft  12   b  is uniquely identified by a tail sign  2 . It will be recognized that this implementation is presented for exemplary purposes only, and the presently disclosed messaging system is envisioned to be scalable to multiple airports, multiple aircraft, and multiple flights. 
         [0039]    As noted above, each aircraft  12  is understood to be equipped with an aircraft mail server  26  in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The aircraft mail server  26  establishes and maintains a vehicle shared e-mail account  52   a  that is accessible by the flight crew from the PEDs  22 . 
         [0040]    The illustrated example includes, in the first flight  100  on board the first aircraft  12   a , multiple flight crew members share one or more aircraft PED  22   a , and multiple flight crew members each carry a personal PED  22   b . The personal PED  22   b  may also be configured with a personal e-mail address, however the operation of that account is wholly separate from this disclosure and is neither supported nor prohibited by this disclosure. In point of fact, the satcom service provider can whitelist the personal email service provider to allow the personal email account to operate as it would at any terrestrial hotspot. Likewise, in the second flight  200  on board the second aircraft  12   b , multiple flight crew members share one or more aircraft PED  22   a , and multiple flight crew members each carry a personal PED  22   b.    
         [0041]    Because the flight crew may rotate among multiple aircraft, the mail user agent  28  in the personal PEDs  22   b  is not initially configured for accessing only one specific vehicle&#39;s shared e-mail account  52   a . Nor is the mail user agent  28  in the personal PEDs  22   b  configured with each vehicle specific shared email account  52   a , since the typically large number of vehicles in the fleet would make the flight crew&#39;s selection of the correct email account difficult to manage. Rather each mail user agent  28  in the personal PEDs  22   b  are assigned a generic shared e-mail account  56  with the address “generic_tailsign@airline.com”. The specific shared e-mail account is assigned once the flight crew is onboard the aircraft  12 , or come within a certain physical proximity thereto, and a login procedure is completed. The generic shared e-mail account  56  thus inherits the aircraft uniqueness upon login, thus reducing operator workload and operator error. In further detail, this is understood to encompass the PED  22   b  being assigned the vehicle shared e-mail account  52   a  that is associated with the particular aircraft  12 , in this case the first aircraft  12   a , to which it is logged in. A first vehicle e-mail address  58   a  for the vehicle shared e-mail account  52   a  includes a unique identifier of the first aircraft  12   a , such as the aforementioned tail sign  27 . Thus, the first vehicle e-mail address  58   a  may be, for example, “tailsign_1@airline.com”. If the first aircraft  12   a  has a tail sign  27  of N106US as depicted in  FIG. 1 , then the first vehicle e-mail address  58   a  may be “N106US@airline.com”. 
         [0042]    The second aircraft  12   b  has a different unique identifier, so it is understood that an e-mail address reflecting this is set in PED  22   b.    
         [0043]    The procedure for assigning the vehicle shared e-mail account  52  to a generic account is understood to be inapplicable to the aforementioned aircraft-installed terminals  18  and aircraft PEDs  22   a , as they are configured persistently from initial set up. In all other respects, however, the terminals  18  and PEDS  22   a  are understood to be interchangeable with the PEDs  22   b . That is, functionality of the PED  22  may be replicated in the terminal  18 , even though a specific description thereof has been omitted from the present disclosure for the sake of brevity. 
         [0044]    E-mail messages may be sent to the flight crew via the vehicle shared e-mail account  52  on a given aircraft  12  with the vehicle e-mail address  58 , that is, the tail sign  27 . As will be discussed in further detail below, most mail messages become inapplicable from one flight to the next, regardless of the same aircraft  12  being operated. Various embodiments of the messaging system further envision addressing the flight crew onboard the aircraft  12  by flight number. The satcom provider mail server  30  and/or airline mail server  44  is understood to update and maintain an aliases database that associates flight number/trip identifier-based e-mail addresses to the vehicle e-mail address  58 . For example, when the first aircraft  12   a  is assigned to the flight  100 , an alias address  60  (specifically,  60   a ) therefor may be established, such as “flight100_crew@airline.com”. The alias address  60  may also be referred to as a trip identifier alias. 
         [0045]    Referring now to the table of  FIG. 4 , an exemplary alias database  62  that, among other functions, maintains this correspondence between the tail sign and flight assignments is shown. In the implementations utilizing the sendmail MTA, the alias database  62  may be a text file also referred to as /etc/aliases. A first column  64   a  is understood to specify the incoming or alias address that is specified by the sender, while a second column  64   b  is understood to specify the destination address to which the message initially directed to the alias address, is re-directed. A first entry  66   a  indicates an alias address  60   a  of “flight100_crew@airline.com”, and a message directed thereto will be forwarded to a destination address that is the first vehicle e-mail address  58   a  “tailsign1@airline.com”. Along these lines, a second entry  66   b  specifies an alias address  60   b  of “flight200@airline.com”, which is redirected to a destination address that is the second vehicle e-mail address  58   b  of “tailsign2@airline.com”. The alias database  62 , including the tail sign, flight, and airport assignments as contemplated in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure may be updated in response to Out of gate, Off the ground, On the ground, and Into the gate (OOOI) statuses as reported from the aircraft  12 . 
         [0046]    Because in some cases it may be easier to refer to aircraft in terms of flight numbers, in certain embodiments the alias address is set as the primary, and the reply-to field in the messages originating from the aircraft  12  may be set thereto. For example, the reply-to address in messages sent from the first aircraft  12   a  that is assigned to the first flight  100  may be “flight100_crew@airline.com”, while the reply-to address in messages sent from the second aircraft  12   b  assigned to the second flight  200  may be “flight200_crew@airline.com”. While the flight crew could manually configure the mail user agent  28  in the PED  22  or crew terminal  18  to set the reply-to field to be the flight number, more typically the mail server  26  onboard the aircraft  12  would be automatically configured to insert the appropriate flight number alias into the reply—to field of each outgoing email message, as driven by OOOI events thus reducing operator workload and operator error. 
         [0047]    With regard to messages transmitted from the mail user agents on the aircraft  12 , at least one transmission segment is understood to be the aforementioned satellite data uplink  34  and data downlink  40  to the ground-based service provider  38 . Interruptions in connectivity are fairly common and an automated mechanism to reroute via a backup channel is provided by MX records within DNS configuration as shown in  FIG. 5 . As shown, MX records are domain specific and thus may be tuned according to airline configurations. By way of example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , airline  1  may have 4 MX entries while airline  2  may have only 3 MX entries, not necessarily in the same order. 
         [0048]    To accommodate situations where no channel is available, certain settings of the mail user agent may be modified from typical default values. Once a “send” command is issued to the mail user agent, the message is moved from an outbox to a sent items subfolder after there is a confirmation that the aircraft mail server  26  accepted it. The aircraft mail server  26  may be configured with a short retry window to give the mail user agent a “MESSAGE FAILED DELIVERY” reply during a communications link outage. To the extent the communications link to the communications satellite  36  was not yet established, this quick response may inform the user to make another connection attempt, and resend the message. It would also be preferable not to receive a “MESSAGE FAILED DELIVERY” reply during satellite beam switches, and so the retry duration may be set to greater than ten minutes. Along these lines, the satcom provider mail servers  30  attempting to reach the aircraft mail server  26  may also have retry durations set to greater than ten minutes. 
         [0049]    In addition to forwarding mail based on the aforementioned e-mail addresses and aliases, the mail transport agent running on the satcom provider mail server  30  typically establish data communications links to the aircraft mail servers  26  that host the destination vehicle shared e-mail accounts  52 . The aircraft mail servers  26  are therefore identified by an IP (Internet Protocol) address. With reference again to the block diagram of  FIG. 2 , the correspondence between the specified domain and account identifier, and the particular aircraft mail server  26 , may be possible by way of MX record lookups against a DNS server  68 . Various forwarding rules may be specified that the aircraft mail server  26  corresponding to the vehicle e-mail address  58  is to be the next mail transport agent for e-mail messages addressed to the same. Similarly, other forwarding rules may be specified that the satcom provider mail server  30  is to be the next mail transport agent for e-mail messages that are not directed to accounts hosted on the aircraft mail server  26 . 
         [0050]    Various embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate also providing ground crew with a shared e-mail account based on the airport  14 . Referring now to the block diagram of  FIG. 6 , at each airport  14 , there are ground crew member assigned to one or more airport PEDs  22   c  and one or more ground crew members that each carry a personal PED  22   d.    
         [0051]    Again, the ground crew members with personal PEDs may additionally have a private personal e-mail address that is unique to the individual and the account is not shared with others, however the operation of that account is wholly separate from this disclosure and is neither supported nor prohibited by this disclosure. 
         [0052]    Each ground PED  22  is assigned an airport shared e-mail account  72  that is addressed using an airport e-mail address  74 . The airport shared e-mail account  72  may be more generally referred to as a first base shared electronic mail account, with the term “base” referring to a starting or stopping point of the vehicle during its journey. 
         [0053]    In most cases, ground crew members work at a single airport, so the ground PED  22  may be preset to utilize only the one airport e-mail address  74 . To the extent ground crew members may roam to other airports  14 , the respective ground PED  22  may also be preset to utilize such a secondary airport e-mail address  74 . There is understood to be little complexity in managing such a small number of additional airport shared e-mail accounts  72 /airport e-mail addresses  74 , and not to the extent of constantly changing flight crew/aircraft assignments that would otherwise benefit from a dynamic address assignment procedure considered above in such context. Thus ground crew members may be expected to select the appropriate airport mail account as needed. 
         [0054]    With the airport shared e-mail accounts  72  thus assigned, it is possible to e-mail the entire group of the ground crew at the airport utilizing the airport e-mail address  74 . That is, messages may be directed to the ground crew at only the first airport  14   a , and specifically to the first airport shared e-mail account  72   a , using the first airport e-mail address  74   a , “airport1@airline.com”. Moreover, messages may be directed to the ground crew at only the second airport  14   b  with the second airport shared e-mail account  72   b , using the second airport e-mail address  74   b , “airport2@airline.com”. 
         [0055]    It may be preferable to address the ground crew based upon the flight number of the aircraft  12  arriving at or departing from the airport  14 , rather than by an identifier for the airport  14  itself. The alias database  62  on the satcom provider mail server  30  and/or airline mail server  44  can associate flight number/trip identification and status-based e-mail addresses to the airport e-mail address  74 . 
         [0056]    Referring back to the table of  FIG. 4 , with the flight  100  being scheduled to depart from the first airport  14   a  and arrive at the second airport  14   b , as shown in a third entry  66   c , a first alias address  76   a  of “flight100_departure@airline.com” may be set for the first airport e-mail address  74   a , “airport1@airline.com”. As shown in the fourth entry  66   d , a first alias address  78   a  of “flight100_arrival@airline.com” may be set for the second airport e-mail address  74   b , “airport2@airline.com”. 
         [0057]    For the flight  200 , which is scheduled to depart from the second airport  14   b  and arrive at the first airport  14   a , a fifth entry  66   e  shows a second alias address  78   b  of “flight200_departure@airline.com” being set for the second airport e-mail address  74   b , “airport2@airline.com”. In a sixth entry  66   f , a second alias address  76   b  of “flight200_arrival@airline.com” is set for the first airport e-mail address  74   a , “airport1@airline.com”. Because these alias e-mail addresses identify the flight and the status, they may be referred to as a trip identification and status-based e-mail addresses. 
         [0058]    Although the trip identification and status-based e-mail addresses can be specified by senders, it is contemplated that mail originating from the ground crew will have a reply-to designation of the airport e-mail address  74 . The ground crew do not need to be physically located at the airport  14  to utilize the airport shared e-mail account  72 , which may be accessed remotely. 
         [0059]    Like the aircraft mail server  26 , the satcom provider mail server  30  may also include various forwarding rules. One possible forwarding rule is that the airline mail server  44  is to be the next mail transport agent for e-mail messages destined for the airport shared e-mail account  72 . 
         [0060]    The different shared e-mail accounts, including the vehicle shared e-mail accounts  52  and the airport shared e-mail accounts  72 , are understood to have a few common characteristics. A message in such a shared e-mail account that has been read by one user will be indicated as being read to all of the other users within the respective mail user agents. In this regard, the messages are understood to have a read status flag that is synchronized across the PEDs  22  and the terminals  18 . Other related categorization flags such as color, flagged for attention, or follow-up within certain time periods may also be set on the messages, and viewable by all of the users with access to the shared e-mail account. 
         [0061]    It is possible to define subfolders under the main shared e-mail account/Inbox, and one contemplated subfolders is for deleted messages. The view of the Inbox is likewise understood to be synchronized, such that messages moved by one user into the deleted messages subfolder will disappear from view on the other mail user agents, and appear in the respective deleted messages subfolders thereof. As tasks specified in the messages are completed, they could be moved to the deleted messages subfolder. Another contemplated subfolder is for archived messages that pertain to a previous flight. It is understood that the timing of the end of a previous flight and a start of a next flight is managed within the aforementioned alias database  62  based on OOOI data. After each flight, OOOI data may trigger the aircraft mail server  26  to move the remaining messages in the Inbox to a Last Flight subfolder, with those already in the Last Flight subfolder being moved further into a Last Last Flight subfolder, and so on. Eventually, when a predetermined archival time period has elapsed, the messages may be moved to the deleted messages folder. A backup of the contents of the aircraft mail server  26  need not be necessary, as an archive may be maintained on the satcom provider mail server  30 . 
         [0062]    Referring again to the diagram of  FIG. 6 , the satcom provider mail server  30  and/or airline mail server  44  are understood to incorporate a security module  80 . A person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that there are several commercial, off-the-shelf security modules  80  that may be utilized. 
         [0063]    Unauthorized messages will not be allowed to pass to the aircraft mail servers  26 . The satcom provider mail server  30  and/or airline mail server  44  are understood to include a filter/rules module  82  that intercepts incoming messages, examines its addressing information and other data, and either rejects or allows the message to continue on to its destination. One possible filter or rule may be a whitelist of acceptable originating domains. Messages originating from domains not on the whitelist, for example, those from a general consumer level e-mail service like gmail.com, may be rejected. 
         [0064]    The filter/rules module  82   m  may also be used to direct messages to certain entities such as airline approved vendors. For example, there may be a blanket rule that directs all messages sent from any aircraft  12  to a particular airport, to a specific vendor. These types of rules may be defined. 
         [0065]    The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the various embodiments of the present disclosure only and are presented in the cause of providing of what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects thereof. In this regard, no attempt is made to show more details than are necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the presently disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in practice.