Real-time flight optimisation for fuel and carbon savings: APiJET and Frontier
Yesterday, APiJET and Frontier Airlines announced an agreement furthering Frontier’s ambitions to become a leader in sustainable aviation. Frontier will be the first airline in the field to test APiJET’s application which harnesses technology initially developed by NASA. APiJETs Digital Winglets technology analyses hundreds of variables and potential flight paths in real-time to provide route optimisations delivering significant fuel and carbon savings.
Rob Green, CEO of APiJET said:
“NASA originally conceived TASAR (Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests) as a pilot-driven application […] However, by shifting flight optimization recommendations from the pilot to the airline’s operations centre, APiJET has been able to significantly reduce deployment friction and time, as well as operational costs and overhead, all while maintaining the same significant savings that we’ve been able to achieve during third party testing of the pilot focused implementation.”
Although airline flight plans are generated using the best information available at the time, the data can quickly become outdated by departure. This application identifies changing operational constraints in real-time, while the algorithm scans 500-800 routes per minute. This enables Digital Winglets to provide its optimised solutions with the highest probability of Air Traffic Control (ATC) acceptance, presenting pilots with the optimal route solutions for maximising fuel and/or time savings during a flight.
Optimisation plays a fundamental role in improving the sustainability of the aviation industry. The burning of jet fuel releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and pollutants into the atmosphere. Therefore, while aviation works towards higher usage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and explores the potential of hydrogen powered aircraft, optimisation can help to minimise the industry’s environmental footprint by maximising efficiency within current operations.
For more on sustainability see:
- SITA and UrbanV sign MoU to develop a digital-first passenger experience for UrbanV’s vertiports in Rome
- Going green: Sustainability initiatives at Pittsburgh Airport
- Interview with Andreas Slettvoll, CEO CHOOOSE – Sustainability and regional trends
Article by Jess Brownlow
