Updated on November, 2024
The airline industry is facing a growing challenge: how to fight climate change and move towards a more sustainable way to operate aircraft. While navigating the ever-rising cost of fuel, which remains their largest operating expense. The pressure to achieve sustainability is mounting from passengers, regulators, and the broader community, making the aviation industry's commitment to the Fly Net Zero 2050 goal more crucial than ever..
Hopefully, there are multiple solutions to face both of these challenges.
Selecting an eco-flying software is a good step to start with. Advanced tool leveraging innovative technologies such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence are key enablers to help airlines fly more efficiently and become leaders in environmental excellence.
But with different solutions on the market, how do you choose the right one? These are six critical questions to guide your decision.
1. What are your airline's main goals?
The very first step consists of listing the main objectives that your company wants to reach by implementing a fuel efficiency solution. From reducing the airline’s fuel costs to strengthening the company’s environmental efforts, benefits brought by an eco-flying software can be versatile, and the solutions on the market are multiple.
That’s why it is important to define what success looks like for your airline and list your main company goals. Different goals may demand different functionalities in a fuel efficiency software, knowing them will help you select the most adapted solution.
Here are some examples of goals from airlines that have implemented a fuel efficiency tool:
- Reducing fuel costs: Targeting a 2-5% cut in fuel consumption can save millions annually.
- Measuring and monitoring eco-flying practices: Precisely track the application rate of best practices outlined in your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
As Lord Kelvin said: “You cannot improve what you cannot measure.” So it is critical to measure with high accuracy the performance of your Fuel Efficiency Program.
- Analyzing fleet performance: Comparing the efficiency of each aircraft type (e.g. NEOs vs. CEOs) to identify optimization opportunities and make data-driven decisions about fleet management.
- Enhancing pilot engagement: Equip crews with tools that encourage sustainable decision-making. The more airlines engage pilots, the more substantial fuel savings will be.
- Improving regulatory compliance: Automate CO₂ reporting for schemes like EU ETS or CORSIA.
- Strengthening environmental reputation: Demonstrate leadership & commitment in sustainability. Today, more and more people are conscious of climate change and the challenges that must be overcome by the aviation industry. Making real contributions to flying more sustainably is a must for every airline considering existing regulations and policies worldwide.
2. Who will benefit from this eco-flying software, and how?
There are many stakeholders involved in a Fuel Efficiency Program. From Flight Ops to Top Management, Dispatch, Pilots, or even Maintenance and Engineering, an eco-flying solution can benefit many different areas of an airline.
Indeeed, Dispatchers choose how much fuel will be needed for the flight, but Pilots are allowed to add discretionary fuel if they seem that it's necessary. Finance negotiates prices on the fuel tender, and Engineering and Maintenance actions also affect fuel consumption... Fuel efficiency is a team effort.
That is why your software should provide value and answer the needs of all stakeholders that will be involved:
- Top Management: Their focus can be in reducing fuel costs and increasing profit margin. Giving them access to automatic dashboards for monitoring the key KPIs of the airline’s operations and doing fuel budget simulations as well as return on investment (ROI) projections will be real assets to steer the company.
- Head of Flight Ops/Chief Pilot: Improving the overall flight operations performance is certainly the most important goal for the Head of Flight Ops or the Chief Pilot.
An eco-flying solution that allows identifying precisely new fuel savings opportunities will be highly valuable and precious help. - Flight Ops Engineer: The flight Ops engineer will be looking at quantifying with deep accuracy the actual fuel savings to increase those further.
Thanks to the automated data collection process of your eco-flying solution, the engineer should be able to transform the torrent of raw data that is captured from individual flights into actionable insights.
An eco-flying solution providing a versatile Business Intelligence (BI) tool to build any report out of the box is of paramount importance to spread the fuel efficiency culture within the company. - Pilots: They aim to improve the efficiency and performance of their flights while complying with the airline’s best practices and policy.
Providing them with a dedicated mobile application is essential for a successful fuel efficiency program. By delivering accurate, individualized performance debriefings after each flight, pilots can gain clear insights into fuel-efficient practices tailored to their specific operations. This approach not only helps them identify opportunities to optimize fuel use but also ensures they can make these adjustments seamlessly without adding to their workload. - Sustainabilty teams: Will focus on accurate emissions monitoring to meet environmental goals. Giving them access to clear reports and accurate data will surely help them keep compliance with regulations, and support the airline’s long-term sustainability strategy.
3. What is the return on investment of the eco-flying software?
A fuel efficiency software isn’t just a cost; it’s an investment with measurable returns.
Is it possible to estimate the potential savings your airline could expect to reach? Even more important, what will be the return on investment (ROI) related to your new eco-flying software?
Before selecting a solution, be sure to build a strong business case to estimate both the potential fuel savings of your company and the ROI your new solution will bring. It will give you insights into what is at stake and some valuable arguments to select a solution from another.
Do you want to find out how to estimate the potential ROI for your airline?
Take a look at our ROI calculator.
4. What is the implementation plan and its methodology?
The implementation project of a Fuel Efficiency Management System can be either long, painful, and time-consuming or, on the contrary, smooth, quick, and under control.
Before selecting an eco-flying solution, it is important to be aware of the timeline, the methodology, and the resources that you will face during the implementation of your selected eco-flying solution.
A clear and proven project management methodology, based on a staged approach delivery, is a must to ensure a smooth implementation and to avoid any delay or bad surprises. Local presence, as well as close cooperation between the airline and the provider Custumer Succes Managers, are essential to have a successful implementation project.
Before selecting your software, do not hesitate to ask for references and testimonials to understand how your provider handles this process. These documents can reveal whether they deliver on their promises.
PRO TIP 👉 Consider these essential points before implementing a new eco-flying software:
- Anticipate the data availability, especially for data from the Flight Data Recorders
- Anticipate resources availability for the airline’s team: project manager, data experts, IT expert in authentication systems. Also, make sure you'll have dedicated support from the provider's side.
- Define a steering committee to take decisions and decide on new orientations if new challenges are faced.
5. How accurate are the fuel efficiency solutions in sight?
Not all fuel efficiency tools are created equal, true business intelligence requires going beyond coarse statistics alone. That’s why you should use accurate computations using performance models, SOPs, and external factors, such as weather conditions and ATC procedures or restrictions.
Pilots know that each flight is different (weight, performance, weather, traffic, etc.), and so should be their savings! That means accuracy in fuel-saving recommendations can make or break pilot trust and engagement. Advanced solutions should use precise performance models that account for:
A statistical approach will be too limited when it comes to differentiating every single flight and providing accurate recommendations to your pilots. Computations that consider the actual flight conditions, with accurate and advanced performance models, are a must to convince them about the feasibility of their actions.
The more accurate the analysis and measures, the more trusted your recommendations will be among your pilots’ community. Discover 10 tips to better engage pilots in fuel efficiency.
6. What support will you receive during and after the implementation?
Selecting an eco-flying software is one thing, but you must think long-term and anticipate the next steps!
Let's say you have selected your fuel efficiency solution, and the implementation is over. What’s next? How will you manage to benefit from the full power of your new eco-flying solution if you are left alone?
When selecting a Fuel Efficiency software, it is not only about the solution itself but, more importantly, about the guidance that comes along with it.
Ongoing support ensures you maximize the solution’s potential. When assessing solutions, look for:
- Full onboarding as well as trainings and guidance services.
- Unlimited support!
- Having a dedicated Customer Succes Manager.
- Regular updates and product enhancements.
Having a tailored support will empower all your stakeholders and will allow them to get the best out of the software to reach your objectives!
Anticipate the next moves 👉 ask your provider for references in terms of support and customer satisfaction (e.g. Net Promoter Score).
Related content >>> Meet the SkyBreathe Community
To sum up
Selecting the right eco-flying software is more than a technical decision—it’s a strategic investment in your airline’s future. By answering these six questions, you’ll ensure that the chosen solution aligns with your goals, drives ROI, and engages all stakeholders effectively.
Here are the key takeaways from this article that will make it a smooth and easy task for you:
- Define your goals and needs; it will filter in the solutions that can answer them.
- Identify the relevant stakeholders for your project and be sure that the solution you select is invaluable to them.
- Estimate the return on investment that the solution can provide to your company. It will be helpful to know what is at stake and how much value your company can benefit from it.
- Get informed about the implementation process. In this kind of project, time means money, and at the end of the day, a longer implementation can result in a more expenses.
- Do you want to bring the best results to your airline? Then, do not overlook the accuracy of your solution because when you talk to pilots, the more accurate your analysis is, the more trusted and used it will be.
- Be sure you will get all the support you will need from your solutions provider! A solution itself will only be as powerful as the training, the support, and the guidance that come along with it.
Ready to learn more about achieving fuel efficiency excellence?
