Air traffic: software to improve CO2 emissions
Business
Flight software is currently being developed in Salzburg that is intended to improve the CO2 emissions of passenger aircraft. Air traffic should thus become more resource-efficient and less harmful to the environment. The program aims to optimize routes, flight times and kerosene consumption.
Air travel has come under increasing public criticism in recent years – environmental organizations are even demanding that short-haul flights be cancelled. The new flight software is intended to calculate flight routes in such a way that flight times are optimized, kerosene consumption is reduced and aviation is made more environmentally friendly and efficient. Skylinx is the name of the program currently being developed in Salzburg. An important element that has hardly been used so far is the incorporation of large amounts of data.
Software works with artificial intelligence
There are several pilots in the development team. “The software helps ensure that a machine uses as little fuel as possible and emits as few pollutants as possible. If you properly link large amounts of data with new technologies, then you can optimize it even more in order to use less fuel and maybe reduce the ecological footprint a bit,” explains developer and former airline pilot, Christian Grill.
Big deal with United Airlines
The software seems to be economically and ecologically interesting for airlines: Last autumn, the three company founders were able to win United Airlines, one of the world’s largest airlines, as a partner. The airline will use the software in the future and invest a two-digit million amount in the young company. “For airlines of this size, saving fuel and optimizing routes is a very big issue. Given the number of flights, that would be an absolutely large amount that you can save and also emit less pollutants,” says Grill.
Goal: save up to 400 tons of kerosene per day
According to the developers, an airline like this, which handles around 3,000 flights worldwide every day, could save an average of 300 to 400 tons of kerosene per day with the new software. For the time being, the program will only go into operation exclusively for United Airlines. If the three founders have their way, their software could be used worldwide in the future. “We haven’t reinvented the wheel, flight planning software already exists, but it is sometimes very delayed. Now it is the first time that big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are used and we are convinced of the calculations and simulations that we are at the forefront when it comes to saving fuel,” says pilot and aviation expert Ludwig Reiter.
Officially operational in a year
Only in February did the entrepreneurs open a second office in Salzburg in addition to their location in Bad Ischl (Upper Austria), they currently employ almost 30 people and want to continue to grow. After a test phase lasting several months, Skylinex is to be officially deployed in around a year.