by Elsie Clark | Dec 12, 2025 | Flight Ops IT, Innovation
European aerospace giant Airbus, in collaboration with Delta, Air France and Virgin Atlantic, has successfully completed a critical phase of flight testing for its innovative ‘fello’fly’ project. This uses wake energy retrieval (WER) to significantly cut fuel burn on long-haul routes.
The initiative, which draws direct inspiration from the ‘V’ formation adopted by migrating geese, involves a trailing aircraft positioning itself within the optimal updraft created by the lead jet. This highly precise manoeuvre reduces the trailing aircraft’s drag, resulting in a substantial increase in fuel efficiency for long-haul operations. Airbus and their partners worked under the SESAR Joint Undertaking GEESE project.
An Airbus spokesperson noted:
While the actual wake energy retrieval flights have not been tested yet on commercial flights, the successful completion of the rendezvous process is a crucial first step toward future efficiency gains.
Airbus has stated the method could deliver fuel savings of up to 5% on Transatlantic voyages. Specific flight demonstrators showed a resulting reduction in CO2 emissions of six tonnes per paired operation. Other collaborators included AirNav Ireland, DSNA, EUROCONTROL Network Manager, French bee, and NATS. Airbus described EUROCONTROL’s Innovation hub interface as ‘key’ to proving the concept’s safety in real-world conditions.
The project addresses a critical challenge for the future of commercial aviation, particularly for wide-body routes. For such aircraft flying over oceans, batteries do not represent a viable sustainability solution.
While the technical solution is now proven, the project’s next steps will focus on operational integration. This includes securing the necessary regulatory changes and working with Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to adapt procedures, ensuring that aircraft can safely fly in the close 1.5-nautical-mile proximity required for WER.
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by Elsie Clark | Oct 29, 2025 | AI & ML, Flight Ops IT, Innovation
Dubai-based carrier Emirates has reported a measurable decrease in unexpected turbulence incidents over the past year thanks to onboard data and analytics.
Changing atmospheric conditions due to climate change are making inflight turbulence more regular and more severe. Notably, scientists at Reading University in the UK found that severe turbulence has increased by 55% between 1979 and 2020 over the North Atlantic. Professor Paul Williams, one of the scientists leading the project, told the BBC earlier this year that turbulent incidents could soon double or treble in length due to changes in temperature and wind patterns.
Turbulence hit the headlines in 2024 after one died and many more were injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London Heathrow. Additionally, ICAO reported in 2023 that 40% of all inflight injuries were the result of turbulence.
Emirates takes action to mitigate unexpected turbulence
Over the past year, Emirates has been investing in multiple systems that can provide pilots with real-time analytics and help its aircraft avoid severe turbulence. Captain Hassan Alhammadi, Divisional Senior Vice President Flight Operations at Emirates, said:
While we cannot promise turbulence-free flights, these initiatives have contributed to a significant reduction in unexpected severe turbulence incidents over the past year, helping make journeys safer and more comfortable for our customers.
One technology partner is SkyPath, which uses AI and machine learning (ML) to detect and predict turbulence hotspots that traditional weather forecasting might overlook. Alongside this platform, Emirates has deployed Lufthansa Systems’ Lido mPilot application, which provides pilots with high-resolution weather data and real-time alerts.
Emirates is also participating in IATA’s Turbulence Aware programme, sharing data with airlines to help other aircraft adjust flight paths in advance to minimise the impact of turbulence.
Alhammadi added:
Our multi-layer approach with weather prediction and technology partners and active participation in the IATA Turbulence Aware programme also enables us to contribute valuable data and insights to the broader aviation industry as we collectively work to address this growing meteorological challenge.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 24, 2025 | Flight Ops IT, Innovation
Optimising flight operations is an increasingly popular topic as the aviation industry tries to reduce emissions and make processes as efficient as possible. But how can data be used to effect meaningful change?
With disruption costing the industry as much as 8% of its revenue, effective flight planning is key to remaining competitive. At Aerospace Tech Week 2025, we sat down with Murray Skelton, Vice President of Business Development at FLYHT Aerospace Solutions, an FTG company, to discuss the future of flight ops.
Most aircraft receive weather updates that are 15 minutes out of date, which can result in delays when flying in unexpected conditions. Skelton discusses how real-time weather updates onboard are essential for ensuring flights operate in the best possible conditions at all times.
We should have, as a community, almost a mandate that says all aircraft that are flying should effectively be flying weather stations.
Weather stations such as the UK Met Office are investing in powerful supercomputers to make forecasts as accurate as possible. But Skelton argues that these computers are only as powerful as the data they provide.
They need more data, and the best place and actually the cheapest place to get the data is to turn aircraft into weather stations.
The conversation also covers the urgent need for aviation to modernise its connectivity infrastructure. With volumes of aircraft expected to double by 2042, leveraging data will be key reducing operational strain.
Right now, ACARS is still the number one communications tool of an airplane. It’s something from 1958, equivalent to very early texting with cellular phones. IP systems are out there, but uptake is quite slow.
Skelton nevertheless remains optimistic about the future, anticipating different ways in which superior data and transmission will enhance flight ops.
The data is getting cheaper. The transmission of data is getting cheaper. And that’s all going to help – but we’re not there yet.
🎥 Watch the full interview to hear Murray Skelton’s full interview on data in aerospace.
Questions asked include:
- How can effective flight planning minimise disruption?
- The number of aircraft in operation is set to double by 2042. How important is it for airlines to leverage data to navigate this transition successfully?
- How do you maintain data quality and ensure all information is reliable and accurate?
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 17, 2025 | Flight Ops IT, Innovation
Air India has adopted SITA OptiFlight’s advanced climb optimisation solution, OptiClimb, and SITA eWAS for improved operational sustainability. The data-driven insights provided will reduce the airline’s carbon emissions by 35,000 tons each year.
The Indian national carrier has adopted the software as part of is intensive modernisation strategy, which includes retrofitting its current planes and purchasing more aircraft. The SITA technology has now rolled out across its fleet of Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, with the widebody fleet to be added soon.
The SITA OptiFlight suite helps airlines optimise key phases of flights, especially energy-intense phases. Without compromising safety or performance, the intelligence tools provide custom climb-out schedules for each aircraft, reducing fuel burn.
SITA eWAS, on the other hand, is a complementary programme that provides pilots with weather updates and predictive forecasting. The availability of this real-time data helps the crew avoid turbulence and re-route efficiently.
Sumesh Patel, President, Asia Pacific at SITA, said:
Air India’s deployment of SITA OptiFlight and eWAS is a strong example of how smart digital technologies can cut emissions, save fuel, and unlock real operational value across every flight.
Basil Kwauk, Chief Operations Officer, Air India, added:
Sustainability and efficiency are core to our transformation into a world-class airline. With SITA OptiFlight and SITA eWAS, we’re taking meaningful steps to modernize our operations, reduce our carbon footprint.
Fuel savings across the fleet as a result of SITA’s optimisations are expected to be in the region 11,000 tons. The announcement comes after Air India signed a memorandum of understanding with IndianOil for the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in August 2025 – a further component of its net-zero emissions strategy.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 16, 2025 | Avionics, Innovation
Honeywell has confirmed that their new Surface Alerts (SURF-A) cockpit technology was trialled in Kansas City, US, in late August,
SURF-A was showcased alongside Honeywell’s already-certified SmartRunway/SmartLanding (SmartX) product, in two demonstrations that recreated real-life near-collisions.
SmartX provides audio and visual clues to pilots during high-stress phases of flights, alerting them to configuration errors and wrong-surface alignments in real-time. SURF-A, meanwhile, has been specifically designed to alert pilots when traffic is on the runway. Callouts are given, and text appears on the display screen if another aircraft in the runway engagement zone presents a collision risk.
As global air traffic increases, cockpit alerts are needed to prevent accidents and close margins of error. Honeywell’s tests of SURF-A at Kansas City recreated two notable incidents from recent years: a February 2023 near-collision at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport during fog, and a January 2023 event at New York JFK where an aircraft taxied onto an active runway.
In the recreations of both scenarios, cockpit alerts warned of the traffic ahead, giving the pilots ample time to react and divert the aircraft’s movements.
Honeywell expects SURF-A certification for commercial aircraft in 2026. Southwest Airlines is currently deploying SmartX across its fleet of Boeing 737s, with more than 700 aircraft activated to date.
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