A year ago, Volaris began its journey with StorkJet’s FlyGuide application to enhance fuel efficiency through pilot engagement. By leveraging tools that analyze historical flight data and provide actionable insights, FlyGuide has become an integral part of their operations. This article reflects on the remarkable progress achieved over the past year, focusing on key initiatives that have delivered measurable improvements in both operational costs and environmental sustainability.

Reflecting on the Journey: A Year of Progress

After a full year of implementation, the results speak for themselves. The graphic below presents significant improvements, showcasing an impressive 33.7 kg of fuel savings per flight and a total of 3823 tons saved annually when sustained.

Figure 1: Summary of initiatives and savings.

These results were achieved through focused efforts on specific initiatives, with FPC (Flight Path Compliance), Climb, Cruise, Descent Speed and Departure Reduced Flaps emerging as standout use cases.

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Use Case 1: FPC Descent Speed – Informed Decisions for Optimal Results

One of the most impactful features of FlyGuide is the Historical Flight tab, where pilots can review their performance post-flight. By analyzing their descent profile and comparing it to the optimum, pilots can clearly see:

• What Mach/IAS they flew at and what was the vertical deviation to the optimal profile
• What was the company policy ECON speed at any given moment of the flight,
• How much fuel/CO2/DOC they saved, and
• How much more they could have saved by optimum, IDLE descent profile

This actionable feedback empowers pilots to adjust their behavior on future flights, creating a cycle of continuous improvement. The ability to visualize both actual and optimal performance has been a key driver of success. For example, in the graph shown, we observe that delayed descent led to speed increase followed by the use of speed brakes and an excessive reduction in speed.

Figure 2: Example of sub-optimum descent

By reviewing these detailed post-flight metrics, pilots can master their descent management techniques. This allows for targeted improvements in future flights, ensuring smoother and more fuel-efficient operations.

The implementation of FlyGuide has yielded significant improvements across the fleet.

Figure 3: Success Rate and DOC improvement for Descent Flight Speed.

For instance:

• Success Rate: Improved from approximately 70% to over 80%
• Direct Operating Cost (DOC): Reduced from 13 kg to just 7 kg per flight

These results are clearly visible in the statistical analysis, showcasing how FlyGuide empowers pilots to make data-driven conclusions that impact fuel efficiency and cost savings.

By combining post-flight insights with actionable recommendations, FlyGuide continues to drive measurable progress in descent management, contributing to both environmental sustainability and operational excellence.

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Use Case 2: Departure Reduced Flaps – Small Adjustments, Big Impact

Another initiative that drives fuel efficiency gains is Departure Reduced Flaps. The optimum flap configuration of the take-off performance calculation tool is the one which gives the highest FLEX setting (highest thrust reduction). Often the differences in FLEX between flap settings are marginal. FlyGuide’s Departure tab provides pilots with recommendations for optimal takeoff configurations resulting in the lowest fuel consumption. By processing historical data and aligning with airline targets, the application identifies the most fuel-efficient flap settings for specific runways and intersections.

By accessing the Departure tab within the FlyGuide app for their specific flight, pilots can check recommended flap settings and understand how these configurations impact fuel burn. Cases where selection of lower flap setting results in decrease of FLEX can be disabled in targets or pilots can decide to take higher flap setting if take-off performance calculations show difference in FLEX.

This feature allows pilots to make informed decisions about flap settings, balancing operational safety, maintenance costs and fuel efficiency. For instance, a transition from a high-flap configuration to a low-flap configuration resulted in a reduction of take-off fuel from 216 kg to 202 kg for the same departure runway. This improvement of 14 kg highlights the tangible benefits of implementing the recommended configurations.

Figure 4: Example of fuel consumption improvement for runway 23L.

The progress achieved is further supported by data from the FuelPro tool, a comprehensive analytics platform designed to track and visualize fuel efficiency performance across various initiatives. Over the past year, the success rate for applying the optimal flap configuration has increased from approximately 60% to nearly 80%. This improvement has directly contributed to a decrease in remaining savings from 6.5 kg to 3.7 kg per flight with no change in average engine thrust reduction.

Figure 5: Success Rate and DOC improvement for Departure Reduced Flaps.

This case demonstrates how structured data, actionable insights, and consistent pilot engagement can drive measurable fuel savings and operational improvements.

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Conclusion

One year after implementing FlyGuide EFB, the results are clear: pilots are more engaged, fuel efficiency has improved, and the airline is reaping the rewards of data-driven decision-making. By concentrating on broader initiatives like Flight Path Compliance and the Reduction of Flaps during both Departure and Arrival, the airline has achieved measurable progress. These efforts have translated into significant environmental and economic benefits, with the airline managing to save nearly 4,000 tons of fuel annually!

Marco Charles, Director of OCC at Volaris, noted:

“FlyGuide gives our pilots the right insights at the right time, based on Data (facts) and with a fair way of disregarding constraints and limitations effects which are out of Pilots’ control, creating healthy feedback for them and engagement from them. Such feedback and engagement help to prepare safely and efficiently each flight and track their performance over time. The result is clear: measurable fuel savings, flight after flight.”

Looking ahead, FlyGuide aims to continue empowering airlines in their efforts to enhance efficiency and sustainability. With the right tools and a collaborative approach, there is still significant potential for further improvements and savings. The progress achieved so far is just the beginning of a broader journey toward operational excellence.