Aerotalon vs Vellox Group Ops Suite

Vellox Group Ops Suite: What It Actually Includes

Vellox Group Ops Suite, built from the merger of Air Maestro and Complete Flight legacy systems, is designed for operational control center (OCC) requirements across multiple regulatory frameworks. The product focuses on core operational needs: duty logs, CG calculations, flight risk assessments (FRAT), pilot readiness tracking, and OCC command center functionality compliant with CASA Part 119, FAA AC 120-96A/Subpart L, and EASA Part-ORO requirements.

Critical limitation: Vellox Ops Suite does NOT include safety management system (SMS) capabilities. For CASA Part 119 AOC holders, FAA Part 135 operators, or EASA Part-CAT operators requiring SMS, incident reporting, hazard management, audits, safety statistics, and change management require a completely separate product called Vellox Safety Suite with its own subscription, login, and support contract.

This fragmentation creates particular challenges for multi-region operators (e.g., Australian operators with CASA Part 119 AOC expanding to US FAA Part 135 operations) who must manage disconnected systems for operations and safety across different regulatory jurisdictions - a fundamental operational challenge.

The Vellox Group Multi-Product Challenge

Vellox Group formed through acquisitions of multiple aviation software companies - Air Maestro, Complete Flight, Spidertracks, FV Technologies (Dispatch Pro), and ADSoftware. Rather than building a unified platform, Vellox maintains these as separate products. Most operators (whether CASA Part 119 AOC holders, FAA Part 135 certificate holders, or EASA Part-CAT operators) need 3-5 separate Vellox products for complete operations:

• Ops Suite: Operations, duty logs, OCC, FRAT (formerly Air Maestro + Complete Flight)
• Safety Suite: SMS compliance for CASA Part 119, FAA FAR Part 5, EASA Part-ORO - incident reporting, hazards, audits (formerly Air Maestro SMS module, now separate)
• Spidertracks: Real-time GPS fleet tracking and flight following
• Dispatch Pro: CAD-integrated emergency dispatch (formerly FV Technologies)
• ADSoftware: Comprehensive maintenance, work orders, inventory management

Each product requires separate implementation, separate monthly subscriptions, separate logins, separate training, and separate support contacts. For multi-region operators managing both CASA and FAA compliance (or EASA and FAA), this fragmented approach creates extreme operational complexity, data silos across regulatory jurisdictions, and dramatically increases total cost of ownership compared to unified platforms like Aerotalon.

Understanding Vellox Multi-Product Costs

When evaluating Vellox Group, operators must calculate the total cost across ALL required products, not just Ops Suite alone. A typical helicopter EMS or SAR operation (whether CASA Part 119 in Australia/NZ, FAA Part 135 in USA, or EASA Part-CAT in Europe) requiring OCC, SMS, fleet tracking, emergency dispatch, and maintenance needs multiple separate Vellox products.

Air Maestro legacy pricing context: Before the Vellox rebrand and product separation, Air Maestro charged $10,000 setup + $2,000/month (20 users included) + training/support costs. First year total was approximately $34,000 for the base platform. Today's Vellox Ops Suite is estimated to have similar first-year costs around $34,000 without additional modules or the now-separate Safety Suite, Fleet Tracking, Dispatch Pro, or Maintenance Hub.

For operators needing comprehensive coverage across all five Vellox products (Ops Suite + Safety Suite + Spidertracks + Dispatch Pro + ADSoftware), each product requires separate implementation fees, separate monthly subscriptions, and ongoing costs for training and support - creating substantial cumulative expenses.

Compare this to Aerotalon's unified platform: $0 setup, all features included (operations, SMS, fleet tracking, dispatch, maintenance), 24/7 support, and support for CASA, FAA, and EASA compliance in one system. Savings of over 50% are typical depending on your existing Vellox contract and operational requirements.

Operational Challenges of Fragmented Systems

Beyond cost, managing 3-5 separate Vellox products creates significant operational friction. Each system has its own login, user interface, training requirements, and support contact. When an incident occurs, operators must log into Safety Suite for SMS reporting, switch to Ops Suite to check operational details, open Spidertracks for flight tracking data, and access ADSoftware for maintenance status - a time-consuming, error-prone workflow.

Data integration between products is limited. An aircraft maintenance status change in ADSoftware doesn't automatically update availability in Ops Suite scheduling. Safety incidents reported in Safety Suite aren't linked to operational events in Ops Suite. Fleet performance data in Spidertracks doesn't inform utilization tracking in Ops Suite. This data fragmentation reduces operational visibility and decision-making effectiveness.

Vellox Ops Suite Core Capabilities: What It Does Well

Despite the multi-product fragmentation, Vellox Ops Suite provides solid OCC functionality across regulatory frameworks. The OCC Control Center offers real-time mission monitoring, pilot readiness tracking, aircraft status dashboards, and integrated chat between OCC, communications center, and pilots. Digital audit trails and compliance logs support CASA Part 119 requirements for Australian AOC holders, FAA requirements for Part 135 Subpart L operators, and EASA Part-ORO operational requirements.

Vellox Ops Suite includes a native iPad app with offline functionality, valuable for crews operating in low-connectivity environments across all regions. Pilots can complete duty logs (CASA/FAA/EASA compliant), manifests, weight & balance calculations, and risk forms offline, with data syncing when connectivity returns. This mobile capability provides field operations support for iPad users.

Vellox Ops Suite scales from small operators (5-15 aircraft) to large enterprises (400+ aircraft) and supports operations globally. The OCC module is particularly well-suited for helicopter air ambulance (HAA), search and rescue (SAR), and law enforcement operations requiring CASA Part 119, FAA Subpart L, or EASA Part-CAT compliance with CAD integration available through Dispatch Pro.

Why Operators Are Switching to Aerotalon's Unified Platform

Aviation operators increasingly recognize that managing 3-5 separate software systems is operationally inefficient and financially wasteful. Aerotalon's unified platform approach delivers everything Vellox Group offers across multiple products - operations, SMS/safety, fleet tracking, dispatch, maintenance - in one integrated system with one login, one user interface, one training program, and one support contact.

The financial case is compelling: with Air Maestro's legacy pricing showing $10,000 setup + $2,000/month base costs (estimated ~$34,000 first year for Vellox Ops Suite alone), Aerotalon's all-inclusive unified platform delivers over 50% savings depending on your existing Vellox contract - without needing separate Safety Suite, Fleet Tracking, or Dispatch Pro purchases.

Beyond cost, operators appreciate Aerotalon's modern unified technology architecture versus Vellox's merged legacy systems. Purpose-built from the ground up as an integrated platform, Aerotalon eliminates data silos, provides consistent user experience, simplifies training, and enables true operational visibility across all aspects of aviation operations.

Migration Strategy: Consolidating Vellox Products to Aerotalon

Migrating from multiple Vellox products to Aerotalon requires coordinated planning but delivers significant long-term benefits. Aerotalon's migration team has extensive experience extracting data from all Vellox products - Ops Suite, Safety Suite, Spidertracks, ADSoftware - and consolidating into the unified Aerotalon platform.

The typical consolidation timeline is 3-4 weeks including data migration from all systems, configuration, training, and parallel running period. Operators should review all Vellox product contracts simultaneously (each has different cancellation terms), request data exports early (2-4 weeks per product), and maintain Vellox access for 30 days post-cutover for reference. Aerotalon provides free white-glove migration service, eliminating the $85K-180K implementation fees you'd pay Vellox for similar transitions.