Thales plots the route to improved fuel efficiency

People may think that demands for greener flight are a relatively new phenomenon, but in reality, they have always been there.

“Airlines have always wanted to cut fuel consumption to improve their bottom lines,” said Yannick Assouad, executive vice-president, Thales Avionics. Reducing CO2 emissions is just an added bonus in an environmentally aware world.

A number of trends for more efficient operations are emerging.

“We see replacing older aircraft within fleets as key,” she said. “Newer, leaner, more fuel-efficient aircraft can make a big difference to operating costs with up to 50% less fuel burn.”

She also expects to see a big increase in the development of synthetic fuels.

“But it may be 10-15 years before we see aircraft powered differently, by using hydrogen or battery/fuel-cell-powered electric motors,” she said.

Meanwhile, Thales thinks there are easier ways for airlines to save fuel. One of them is a more modern approach to flight management.

“Existing flight management systems (FMS) use old technology and there is no easy and quick way to change your route,” Assouad said. “But by making it a fully connected FMS you can bring in a lot more data to help the FMS choose the most efficient route."

“For example, by taking advantage of tailwinds at a different altitude, significant cost savings can be made.”

Thales was recently selected by Airbus to equip its commercial airliners with a new innovative FMS. The new system, which is based on the Thales PureFlyt product, is being designed in particular for the A320, A330 and A350, significant numbers of which are operated by airlines in the Middle East and subcontinent, including the world's biggest fleets of A330s (Turkish Airlines) and A350s (Qatar Airways).

Entry into service is planned for the end of 2026.

The new system will optimise flight paths to help reduce the carbon footprint of airline operations. Thales says it is specifically designed to efficiently manage aircraft in a connected aerospace ecosystem and in increasingly crowded skies.

The FMS is the 'brain' of the aircraft and is used to prepare flights, set flight parameters and ensure aircraft guidance throughout the flight, including approach and landing procedures.

Designed from the outset to be connected and cybersecure, the system maximises the benefits of access to data including real-time weather information.

By linking the new FMS with non-avionics systems — such as the pilot’s Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and airline operational control centres — the solution will make it quicker and easier to analyse flight plan revisions, providing the pilot with the best route and simplifying interaction with air traffic control (ATC).

Interconnecting the FMS with AvioBook, Thales’ EFB application suite, will give flightdeck crews access to an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) allowing them to quickly and accurately respond to dynamically changing conditions.

This relieves crew of the tedious, distracting and time-consuming task of manually updating the flight plan through a complex sequence of FMS button-presses. Instead, the pilots use the intuitive EFB GUI and then verify the changes on the new FMS before committing the changes to the active flight plan.

Thales says it will help to ease airport congestion, cut fuel consumption, decrease noise pollution and reduce pilot workload.

The company is drawing on experience gained on more than 100 million flight hours with Thales’ current generation of FMS systems, enabling airlines to benefit from an optimal combination of flight safety, operational efficiency and fuel savings.

It includes navigation and performance databases for the precise calculation of optimal flight paths and flight times. The plan is to make the FMS available for both new aircraft and retrofit.

Airbus’s choice of a system that is compatible with all its aircraft will enhance fleet interoperability for airlines and make it easier for pilots to make the transition from one Airbus aircraft type to another.

Typically, pilots only get up-to-date weather information from any on-board weather radar system. But any weather feature may be out of its range. Traditionally, EFBs only know about weather from out-of-date forecasts, but now they will be able to get up-to-date weather information while in flight.

The system can then suggest alternative routes to avoid thunderstorms or other adverse weather, complete with an updated estimated arrival time and any additional fuel burn.

This means pilots know what they are selecting from the outset.

For example, your original flight plan might be for flying at flight level 340, but the FMS might suggest flight level 375 to save fuel. If ATC agrees, you can then transfer to the new suggested routing and save the airline money.

Thales calls this trajectory management. Sometimes the pilot may have to deviate from the planned path. The new FMS will always calculate how to get back on track with a valid plan and it can do this 5-10 times faster than current systems.

Another new feature is vertical profiling on the EFB, showing the actual flight profile in a graphical display.

Thales thinks its new FMS, when introduced, could save 13 million tonnes of fuel and 40 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

“Forty per cent of an airline’s costs are on fuel, so any reductions would be very welcome,” said Assouad.

By combining the integrity of the FMS and the agility and power of the EFB, the aircraft trajectory can be permanently controlled, adapted and enhanced, resulting in optimised flight, decreased fuel consumption and improved passenger comfort.

At the end of a flight, the updated flight plan from the EFB is ready to be sent to the company at the touch of a button.

A team of 400 engineers at Thales’ operations in Toulouse and Bordeaux, along with commercial airline pilots, have been working on the new FMS.