CASE STUDY: Data-Led Fuel Efficiency

Author: Luke Towler, Fuel Efficiency Systems Manager, Jet2.com

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Luke Towler, Fuel Efficiency Systems Manager at Jet2.com and Jet2holidays shares the secret of the airline’s fuel performance success

Leading leisure airline Jet2.com has partnered with StorkJet to implement a range of data-driven technologies that enable the airline to continue to grow sustainably, by optimizing aircraft performance and flight operations.

The UK’s third largest airline has chosen StorkJet’s AdvancedAPM and FuelPro products, which will provide Jet2.com with real-time data and analysis that can be used to achieve even greater operational efficiencies and fuel savings. As well as helping to reduce emissions and costs, the technology is adjusted to different aircraft, providing bespoke feedback to multiple departments, including flight crew. All aircraft in the Jet2.com fleet are being supported with StorkJet’s innovative solutions, including aircraft in the company’s Airbus and Boeing fleets.

Captain Barry Comerford, Head of Flight Operations Technical at Jet2.com said: “We are very pleased to have selected StorkJet, as their innovative solutions will play an important role in enabling us to continue developing our operational efficiency. AdvancedAPM and FuelPro will help us identify and measure additional marginal gains through data driven analysis, further improving our operation and helping us reduce emissions too.”

Jet2.com is the UK’s third largest airline, providing leisure flights from 13 UK airports to sun, ski and leisure city destinations across the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Europe. Renowned for its industry-leading approach to customer service, Jet2.com was voted Which? Travel Brand of the Year 2023. Its sister company, Jet2holidays, specializes in the provision of package holidays and is the UK’s largest tour operator. Jet2holidays was also recognized as Which? Travel Brand of the Year 2023, and all Jet2holidays customers have Jet2.com flights included as part of their package.

STORKJET PLATFORMS

In figure 1, you can see the three platforms with which StorkJet addresses fuel efficiency.

Figure 1: StorkJet Platforms

AdvancedAPM: Introduced in 2022, AdvancedAPM offers tail-specific AI performance models using real-time flight data to automate the calculation of APM (Aircraft Performance Monitoring) factors. This not only improved the accuracy of fuel planning but also optimized our processes through automatic export to the Flight Planning System.

FuelPro: Introduced in 2023: FuelPro bridged the gap between data and managers to use data-driven, AI performance models to save on 44 fuel initiatives within flight planning, APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), and all phases of flight. FuelPro resolved data silo challenges, facilitating safe access to data from multiple systems in one place.

DB2DB: Jet2.com utilizes a broad range of in-house BI (Business Intelligence) platforms to harness StorkJet’s powerful machine learning models and safely provide the business with operational data for aircraft fuel consumption.

FlyGuide: Phased in during 2024/ 2025, FlyGuide empowers pilots with personalized insights, enhancing both pre-flight preparation and post-flight analysis, supporting fuel decision making.

FUEL EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES

StorkJet has played a key role in helping us identify and implement a range of fuel efficiency initiatives across the Jet2.com operation. These initiatives include optimizing climb, cruise, and descent speeds; refining discretionary fuel practices; encouraging single-engine taxi procedures; and promoting the use of reverse idle thrust where appropriate. We recognize that operational conditions vary, and not every initiative can be applied on every flight. That’s why we support our pilots to make informed fuel decisions based on the context of each flight, while remaining aligned with the Jet2.com sustainability objectives.

Figure 2: Idle Reverse Progress in 2025

StorkJet provides the business with tools to track progress across each fuel efficiency initiative, supported by fully customizable target setting tailored to our operational needs. Additionally, a Remaining Savings metric is calculated for every flight, representing the potential fuel that could have been saved if a specific initiative had been executed optimally. This serves as a key performance indicator, offering valuable insight into the adoption and effectiveness of each fuel-saving measure. In general, the lower the remaining saving, the more a given initiative has been performed.

When implementing any fuel efficiency initiative, a thorough risk analysis is essential to ensure that the policy remains safe, practical, and operationally sound. A recent example is the optimization of excess fuel for selected destinations, which was refined after StorkJet’s data-driven analysis demonstrated it could be safely adjusted. This approach ensures that efficiency gains are achieved without compromising the safety or integrity of the operation. The remaining savings then showed the Remaining Savings decreased to 0kg per flight as seen in figure 3.

Figure 3

This demonstrates that the efficiencies were implemented effectively, with no compromise on safety.

QUANTIFYING OUR CARBON REDUCTION

Our sustainability strategy is to achieve targets in the air, on the Ground, and in resort. StorkJet has not just contributed to identifying efficiencies in the air but also enabled analysis of all fuel efficiency initiatives from around the business. These include:

• 155 New A321Neo Aircraft – Actual fuel consumption reductions per seat thanks to the new aircraft.
• Weight Reductions – StorkJet calculates the actual fuel saving resulting from weight saving initiatives, including carbon brakes, catering carts, and paint.
• New In-flight Performance Tool – Additional optimization of landing performance calculation can provide significant reductions in reverse idle thrust during the landing roll. StorkJet automatically detected and reported the fuel and CO₂ benefits.

Split-Scimitar winglet – Calculating aerodynamic savings can be difficult due to many variables impacting the fuel consumption of a flight. StorkJet supported this analysis by showing real-time improvements in performance factors as you can see in figure 4.

Figure 4  – APM Improvement

The analysis tools available in the system provided a clear view of the benefits; they showed that the performance improvements varied between individual aircraft, a finding that has been critical for evaluating our return on investment (ROI). With these insights, we have been able to quantify the effect of the retrofit.

AdvancedAPM AUTOMATION

Accurate performance monitoring is essential for efficient operations. Historically, with legacy tools, our teams needed to export performance data and manually insert it into the flight planning system. This process required significant effort and introduced the risk of human error. With AdvancedAPM, this process is now fully automated. Flight plan factors are updated directly in the planning system, making fuel planning for each route more precise and ensuring more reliable arrival fuel predictions. The accuracy of the results has been independently tested by our aircraft performance team and proven to be significantly higher than what was achievable with legacy tools. By integrating this solution, we have reduced workload, improved accuracy, and increased confidence in our operational planning.

This is just one example of StorkJet efficiency going beyond fuel but also improving processes to reduce manual workload.

CONCLUSION

Through our partnership with StorkJet, Jet2.com has been able to take a significant step forward in delivering data-led fuel efficiency across our operation. By integrating platforms such as AdvancedAPM and FuelPro, we have not only improved the accuracy of fuel planning and decision-making but also enabled our teams to work more efficiently, with reduced manual workload and greater confidence in operational outcomes. The initiatives identified and supported by StorkJet, for all phases of flight, have demonstrated measurable fuel and carbon savings, without any compromise on safety.

These solutions are helping us to quantify real-world efficiency gains, better understand aircraft performance at a tail-specific level, and continuously monitor our progress through Remaining Savings and other key metrics. With the phased introduction of FlyGuide, we are also extending these benefits directly to our pilots, equipping them with personalized insights that strengthen both pre-flight preparation and post-flight analysis.

StorkJet’s commitment to excellent customer service closely aligns with Jet2.com’s own award-winning approach. StorkJet mirrors this philosophy by providing responsive, collaborative, and tailored support throughout the implementation of their solutions. This alignment strengthens the effectiveness of our joint initiatives, collaborating on product development and root cause analysis to ensure safe, realistic, and efficient fuel planning.

As we continue to grow sustainably, the adoption of StorkJet’s innovative technologies reinforces Jet2.com’s commitment to reducing emissions in the air on our Journey to Net Zero.