Brisbane-based Alliance Airlines is upgrading its relationship with GE Digital. The airline already uses a GE data analytics platform that uses flight data to maximize operational safety and efficiency. Now, Alliance Airlines is adding another GE package to its toolkit. The software, known as Fuel Insight, will zero in on fuel burn at the airline.
Alliance’s fuel efficiency drive comes as jet fuel prices soar
Fuel Insight software is a cost and emissions reduction package that provides airlines with data and insights insight to help increase aircraft fuel efficiency and reduce waste. It will also help Alliance Airlines figure out how their performance compares to other airlines. With Singapore jet fuel selling at over US$156 per barrel on Monday, every gallon of fuel an airline can conserve counts.
“We are looking forward to expanding our long-term partnership with Alliance Airlines and working to ensure we harness the wealth of insights that come from flight data to lower the airline’s CO2 footprint while raising flight efficiency,” said Andrew Coleman, General Manager of GE Digital’s Aviation Software business.
Alliance’s latest software package from GE Digital will focus on fuel efficiencies and driving fuel costs down. Photo: GE Digital
In the fuel conservation stakes, Alliance kicks some goals and misses some goals. Except for its Brisbane Airport base, it flies lonely routes to uncrowded airports (often otherwise empty airports), so there’s not much fuel burnt while orbiting and waiting for ATC clearance to land. But Alliance does fly in Northern Australia, where there is often some ducking and weaving around bad weather and flying at suboptimal altitudes, particularly during the wet season.
Looking outside the box for fuel cost savings
And Alliance’s fleet of Fokkers and Embraer E190s aren’t exactly best in class when it comes to fuel efficiency. They inevitably burn less fuel than bigger jets, but there are better aircraft out there on a fuel burn per seat basis. So airlines like Alliance need to extract fuel efficiencies where they can, including using data analytics.
“We chose GE Digital’s Fuel Insight solution to help increase our fuel efficiency, lower costs, and reduce carbon emissions,” said Stewart Tully, Chief Operating Officer for Alliance Airlines. “GE is a trusted partner with the tools and services to help us maximize our investment. The specialized skills of their team of experts and data scientists allow us to unlock the value of the data we already had and make a significant impact on our business.”
Alliance Airlines Route Map. Image: Alliance Airlines
Rising fuel prices could put the squeeze on Alliance’s profits
Unlike most airlines, Alliance Airlines dodged the worst of the pandemic. Scheduled Alliance Airlines passenger flights operate but aren’t part of the airline’s core business. When regular passengers stopped flying, Alliance Airlines continued to ferry miners and resources workers to remote sites under fly-in-fly-out contracts that proved pandemic resistant. Alliance Airlines enjoys the rare airline industry distinction of making money over the last two years.
But rocketing jet fuel prices could end this trend. Alliance Airlines’ direct flight costs over the last six months of 2021 were AU$61.8 million, with a large slice of that going on fuel. Alliance Airlines will see fuel make up an even larger slice of direct flight costs in the first half of this year. Despite the help from GE Digital and its data analytics, rising fuel costs will likely contribute to direct flight costs increasing overall.
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