Lufthansa unveils new flight computer that saves fuel

Singapore (Singapore) - At the Singapore Airshow, Lufthansa Systems unveiled a new flight planning module, which uses a low-power computer cut fuel consumption and time on air travel.

There is a relatively simple idea behind the new addition to the “Lido Operations Center” – the system is designed to monitor current air traffic capacity and adjust the routing of an airplane. According to Lufthansa, the computer - which works as a supplement to the flight plan system - is capable of considering partly restricted air paths, suggesting various bypasses in order to get the most efficient, yet legal and safe routing for the aircraft.

On three tested airlines (of 35 airlines worldwide that currently use original Lufthansa System’s Lido OC), the developers claim to have achieved fuel savings of about 2%. Not surprisingly, folks at Lufthansa Systems are highlighting the green angle as much as they can.

2% savings does not sound much, but in the light of much kerosene is consumed by airplanes each year, can actually be massive. For example, last year Lufthansa changed a small segment of its Hong Kong approach. In final two hours of flight, flight time was reduced by 18 minutes, because of the new system. Given the annual frequency, enough fuel was saved for a complete flight from Frankfurt, Germany to New York.

Details of computer components were not disclosed as the components of this system are considered an industry secret.