The rest check that happened after the duty day, not before it.
An operations coordinator keeps the crew roster in a spreadsheet. Before each assignment, they check rest compliance by hand, counting back through duty periods against the flight time limitation scheme, hoping nothing was missed.
Flight following runs on phone calls and manual log entries. There is no single view of where each aircraft is in its mission, so an overdue position report gets noticed late, if at all.
The airline platform someone suggested does not fit: it assumes a fixed network schedule and a scheduled-operation rest rule set, not on-demand trip requests.
A system built around your operation checks rest before the duty day begins, not after.
The mismatch shows up fast when you drop an airline-focused platform onto a charter operator or corporate flight department. Routing is point-to-point, not network-based. Each flight is a trip request, not a fixed schedule. Crew get managed against an on-demand rest rule set, not a scheduled-operation FTL scheme. Custom flight operations software is built around your actual trip request workflow, crew roster, applicable rest rules, and operational control communication protocol. Rest compliance checks reflect your specific applicable FTL scheme, not a generic assumption, and a breach is flagged at the point of assignment rather than after the fact.
Business aviation activity keeps climbing. Mid-2025 set an all-time monthly flight record, running roughly 7 percent above the prior year (Avi-Go, 2025). On-demand operators feel that growth first in the back office, where crew rest math and flight following still run on spreadsheets and phone calls. A system built around your operation absorbs that load instead of adding to it.
RaftLabs has shipped production software since 2015 with deep experience building compliance-critical platforms in regulated industries where a missed rule creates real risk. For operators flying government or defense missions, we plan for data residency and export-control constraints on where flight and crew data lives. The team that scopes your operation is the team that builds the system: no bait-and-switch, no offshore handoff after the contract is signed. Every project is delivered at a fixed cost, calculated and locked in writing before any development starts. We frame the first release as a validated v1 you can run live, usually in 12 to 18 weeks, then iterate from there.
This is built for non-scheduled operations, not for scheduled airlines.
Everything on the left should already be true for your operation. Even one thing on the right, and an airline platform or an off-the-shelf product is the smarter first step.
A fit01You run non-scheduled operations: a charter operator, corporate flight department, air ambulance service, or specialist air operator.
02Each flight is a separate trip request, not a fixed network schedule, and crew are managed against an applicable FTL scheme (EASA ORO.FTL, FAA Part 117, CASA CASR Part 48, or a custom approved scheme).
03Rest compliance, flight following, or operational control creates real risk or administrative burden in your current process.
Not a fit01You run a high-frequency, hub-and-spoke scheduled passenger airline that a commercial airline platform already fits.
02Crew rest compliance is trivial, or already handled by a tool you are happy with.
03You want an off-the-shelf product to configure yourself, not a system built around your actual operation.
What we build
What custom flight operations software covers
Trip request management through aircraft assignment with schedule conflict detection and maintenance status checking, schedule optimisation across multiple aircraft, and change propagation to crew and handling agents when a trip is modified.
02Crew scheduling and rest compliance
Rest compliance checking runs automatically before each assignment against your applicable FTL scheme, with cumulative duty hour tracking against rolling look-back windows and augmented crew rest calculations for long-range sectors. Built for EASA and non-EASA operators alike.
03Operational flight plan
Flight plan generation from route, weight, fuel policy, and weather data, with fuel calculation covering trip, contingency, alternate, and reserve fuel validated against your operations manual, and electronic filing to ATS. We integrate with Jeppesen, Lido, or Navtech for navigation data and standard METAR/TAF/SIGMET weather sources.
A flight following board shows every active flight's position, fuel state, and ETA from position reports or ADS-B data, with overdue report alerts triggering the operations controller to initiate contact procedures.
Load sheet generation calculates takeoff weight and centre of gravity against aircraft limits, with dangerous goods screening and electronic captain acceptance recorded before departure.
06Operational control communications
An operations control log timestamps every significant communication during the flight, with automated departure/arrival messages, delay notification management, and NOTAM pulls for the pre-flight briefing package.
Have a flight operations software project?
Tell us about your operation: your aircraft types, your crew structure, your applicable rest rule set, and where your current process creates risk or administrative burden. We'll scope a system built around your actual operation.
How it works
From scope to live operations system
- Week 1
01Operation model scoping
We map your aircraft types, crew structure, and applicable rest rule set. You leave week 1 with a written scope document and a fixed-price quote.
- Weeks 2-5
02Compliance and workflow design
FTL compliance logic and flight following workflow designed against your actual operation.
- Weeks 6-15
03Build and integrate
Scheduling, crew compliance, and flight plan integration built in parallel, tested against real operational scenarios.
- Final 2-3 weeks
04Launch v1 and operations team training
Operations controllers and crew trained on the new workflow, then a validated v1 goes live before you expand into the rest of ops.
Where you land on cost depends on scope, not negotiation:
- Focused build, $55,000-$110,000
- Flight scheduling, crew scheduling with rest compliance, and flight following.
- Full build, $110,000-$200,000
- Everything in the focused build, plus operational flight plan generation, load and balance, and full operational control communications.
What it costs
Custom flight operations software, starting at $55,000.
A system built around your aircraft types, crew structure, and applicable rest rule set, with a validated v1 you can run live in 12 to 18 weeks.
Crew scheduling and rest-rule compliance is where most operators start, since it's usually the most urgent gap. The rest of flight ops gets added once that module is running.
Starting investment
Starts at $55,000
Cost is calculated against your aircraft types and crew structure. Most teams launch a validated v1 in 12 to 18 weeks, then expand. Start with crew scheduling and rest-rule compliance, then add the rest of ops.
No hourly billing
Once we scope your operation, that price is locked in writing, no surprise invoices, no change fees you didn't agree to.
One team, start to finish
The team that scopes your operation builds the system. No bait-and-switch, no offshore handoff after the contract is signed.
