Lufthansa Systems has announced that Singapore Airlines will continue to optimise its route planning using the leading flight planning solution Lido/Flight. Lido/Flight uses a variety of factors to calculate the optimal route for an aircraft. This can decrease an airline’s fuel costs by up to five percent.
The airline is extending its long-term agreement with Lufthansa Systems for another eight years. Singapore Airlines has also significantly expanded the scope of this agreement by adding a number of additional Lido/Flight modules, including aircraft performance solutions. The route planning solution has also been deployed by the airline’s subsidiaries Singapore Airlines Cargo and SilkAir.
With its modern technology and user-friendly design, Lido/Flight takes into account all aspects of flight planning. The system automatically calculates the best route, taking into consideration all current flight-related information, such as weather data and aeronautical restrictions. Lido/Flight, which has been deployed by leading airlines around the world operating in different business models, provides dispatchers with many optimisation options regarding flight time, fuel consumption and the cost of each flight.
Singapore Airlines uses the Lido/Flight TFR (Traffic Flow Restrictions), InflightMonitor and FreeFlight modules, amongst others. While Lido/Flight TFR opens up a host of new route options by considering time restricted airways, Lido/Flight InflightMonitor automatically informs the dispatcher about all notifications relevant to flights which have been calculated but not yet completed.
Lido/Flight’s FreeFlight module is the first solution to calculate flight paths using geographical coordinates instead of waypoints. This makes it an efficient planning solution for air spaces without a finely meshed network of airways. During a demonstration green flight, carried out under the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE) programme from Los Angeles via Tokyo to Singapore that was planned with FreeFlight in 2010, Singapore Airlines was able to cut its flying time by 30 minutes compared to a regular flight and lower its fuel consumption by just under five tons.
"We are very proud that our long-standing customer Singapore Airlines has once again opted for our IT solution so that we can continue to contribute to the airline’s commercial success," said Olivier Krüger, Asia Pacific CEO at Lufthansa Systems.
Singapore Airlines, one of the world’s leading airlines, is based in Singapore and is a member of the Star Alliance. From its hub at Singapore Changi Airport, the airline serves 63 destinations in 34 countries with a fleet of more than 100 aircraft.