Etihad Airways is introducing a mobile flight optimisation application to pilots of its Boeing 787 fleet. The tool, Jeppesen’s FliteDeck Advisor, is designed to minimise fuel consumption and improve operational efficiency.
According to Jeppesen, FliteDeck Advisor is a “mobile flight optimisation application providing pilots with real-time, trail-specific, in-flight advisories to improve flight profile, fuel burns, flight schedule and save airlines money.”
VP of Flight Operations at the UAE-based airline Airways, Sulaiman Yaqoobi, commented they were “very pleased” with the fuel and cost savings that they have made as a result of using the tool.
“FliteDeck Advisor was tested as part of the Etihad Greenliner program, and it is great to now see it deployed across the 787 fleet, helping Etihad achieve efficiency gains and reduce CO2 emissions.”
New tool “superior” to in-flight systems
Whilst some may have thought that a 787’s own avionics systems would provide flight performance recommendations itself, Jeppesen claims its FliteDeck Advisor application provides insight “superior to [that of] the in-flight management computer and flight planning systems.”
It achieves this by analysing route-specific data collected in relation to the existing flight plan. Variables considered include fuel burn, time savings and aircraft-specific performance metrics such as aircraft degradation.
Etihad has an existing partnership with Jeppesen, using its Crew Rostering tool for crew scheduling. Pilots use flight-specific wind and meteorological data provided by Boeing for charting and navigation.
1.4% fuel savings
According to Boeing, the decision to use the tool on 787s follows a trial that found that the technology “delivered cruise fuel savings of 1.4%, saving an average of 350 kilograms of fuel and 1,100 kilograms of CO2 per flight.”
Duane Wehking, head of Digital Aviation Solutions at Boeing, added “Etihad has been a tremendous partner in advancing sustainable aviation technologies.
“We are excited to continue providing them with solutions that help them decarbonise their fleet while meeting their commercial goals.”
What do you think of Jeppesen’s FliteDeck Advisor? Let us know in the comments below.
