Gulf Air selects Honeywell’s GoDirect software to lower fuel costs

The innovative Connected Aircraft service analyses a multitude of flight-related factors to optimise fuel efficiency, aiming to help the airline reduce its fuel consumption and lower associated operational costs, which can run to hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Fuel costs constitute a large proportion of expenses for any airline. It is essential that Gulf Air has a clear overview of the fuel used by our fleet to lower consumption and improve our operational efficiency,” said Captain Waleed Abdulhameed AlAlawi, deputy chief executive officer, Gulf Air. “Honeywell’s GoDirect Flight Efficiency software allows Gulf Air to quickly improve our fuel consumption by analysing the performance of our aircraft at different stages.”

GoDirect Flight Efficiency uses a set of unique algorithms and data analytics to inform fuel-saving decisions both on the flight deck and at the operations base. It allows flight operation crews to find and resolve fuel inefficiencies while informing pilots about shortcuts, optimal climb speeds, cruise altitudes, and other opportunities to reduce fuel usage. Existing users of the service have reported fuel savings of up to five percent.

“Our airline operations division was directed to focus on reducing fuel costs to enhance our environmentally friendly practices,” said Captain Suhail Abdulhameed Abdulaziz Ismaeel, chief operating officer, Gulf Air. “The intuitive user interface of Honeywell’s software provides us with sophisticated reports and dashboards that are clearly understandable and designed to help us meet our targets on lowering emissions through improved fuel efficiency.”

Honeywell’s GoDirect Flight Efficiency software boasts a user-friendly interface and integrates with existing aircraft components to produce more than 100 predefined analysis reports. These reports improve flight-planning capabilities and empower pilots with unprecedented levels of insight, helping to expand their knowledge of operations and allowing them to learn from previous flights.

“Airlines have an ever-increasing need to improve fuel consumption, both to reduce emissions and to get the most out of their existing aircraft. Even small fuel savings can impact an airline’s profitability when multiplied by hundreds, or thousands, of flights annually,” said David Shilliday, vice president, Airlines, EMEAI, Honeywell Aerospace. “Our GoDirect Flight Efficiency solution is a user-friendly Connected Aircraft service that integrates data sources to monitor fuel use in real time. It detects opportunities to make fuel savings and identifies ways to lower the environmental impact of an aircraft.”