Put pilots at the center of your fuel efficiency program
In a previous blog article "How earning pilot trust can improve your airline efficiency", we explained that engaging pilots and earning their trust could be very rewarding:
This article will give you some ideas on how to better earn pilot trust:
Empower your pilots
This is a basic of management, but at OpenAirlines, we believe in empowering our employees, and we believe the same applies to pilots.
In the digital age, there is a lot of data that is produced by the aircraft and by other digital systems. If compiled and presented correctly to the pilots, this data can make their life easier and help them execute their flight safely and efficiently.
Unlock this potential and share this information with them relevantly and transparently.
But above all make sure the information you share with them is up to the highest standard, or you are at risk of losing their hard-earned trust.
For example, using SkyBreathe®, our customer airlines automatically gather statistics per route on planned vs. actual fuel consumption, holdings, and directs and share them with their pilots, contextualized with the conditions of the day (weather, time of day, etc.).
"Pilots have started comparing their performance with each other, and that motivates them to improve. They are more involved in SmartWings' fuel policies."
Marek Andrejs, Performance Engineer at SmartWings
Crowdsource their experience
At a time where it is so easy to share personal experience on social networks, there is a lot of potential in capturing pilot experience and letting them share it with their peers.
Imagine if as a pilot, you could benefit from the previous experience of all your peers that fly the aircraft you are going to fly and the route you are going to fly.
Considering the frequency of flights on the network, it is very likely that this combined experience could positively complement your own experience.
Also, if this experience is objective, based on facts and figures captured by the aircraft, and enriched with personal pilot feedback, wouldn't it make it even more trustworthy?
Figure 1: Example of EFB tool for pilots: MyFuelCoach™ developed by OpenAirlines
Help them, don't constrain them!
Pilots are passionate about their work and highly professional.
Give them the tools to perform better, and share with them the importance of fuel efficiency for:
- Safety
- Airline efficiency
- The planet!
Speak to their guts, their brain and their heart.
They are craftsmen who are proud of their work. If you show them room for improvement and give them the means to perform better, most of them will be very excited by the challenge.
And remember, since "Safety first" is the motto of any airline in the world, influence them, educate them, train them, make their job simpler but leave them with the ultimate decision.
Whatever the power of AI, Big Data analysis, etc. nothing will replace pilot judgment in analyzing complex situations.
Ready to go further on these topics? We’re here to help!
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You want to learn more about how airlines earn pilot trust, discover how Transavia better engaged their pilots:
