Africa´s fastest growing airline relies on proven flight planning solution

Raunheim | September 10, 2018– Lufthansa Systems and Ethiopian Airlines Group today announced the introduction of Lufthansa Systems’ Lido/Flight 4D solution in Ethiopian’s flight planning system. This new generation of the proven flight planning solution from Lufthansa Systems offers extensive automation and optimization functions for flight planning and control processes. Ethiopian Airlines will be using Lido/Flight 4D for the next five years.

“We are pleased to further cement our collaboration with Lufthansa Systems by upgrading our flight planning system to Lido/Flight 4D, having used the Lido Flight Planning Service Lido/FPLS for the last five years. Lido/Flight 4D is one of the most effective flight planning solutions worldwide and has been rewarding in augmenting our efforts to optimize flight planning and control endeavors in our expanding service and latest technology acquisition. With the introduction of Lido/Flight 4D, we are aiming to further optimize our routings and flight planning processes, thereby reaping benefits in terms of reduced flying time and fuel consumption,” said Tewolde GebreMariam, Group Chief Executive Officer at Ethiopian Airlines.

The core features of Lido/Flight 4D are its integrated and continually updated aeronautical database and the so-called optimizer. Lido/Flight 4D calculates the most suitable route for each flight based on all flight-related data, weather conditions and the current airspace situation including any restrictions.

Around 120 airlines with a total of more than 6,000 aircraft are currently using Lufthansa Systems’ flight planning solution, which has been successful in the market for more than 17 years. The most recent releases covered certain basic components for migrating to current technologies as well as functional innovations and improvements for takeoff and landing weight optimization, crew briefing and route optimization. In various comparative analyses based on thousands of flight plans, Lido/Flight was able to reduce fuel costs by an average of 2 percent, cut flying times by 1.9 percent and save 1.6 percent of air traffic control fees compared to its competitors.

“The contract with Ethiopian Airlines is strategically important to us,” said Marco Cesa, Senior Vice President Regional Management EMEA at Lufthansa Systems. “The deal will be noticed throughout Africa and strengthens our position in the local market. The reliability and flexibility of our product won over Ethiopian Airlines and will provide considerable support to the carrier going forward.”

Argentinian airline to continue using Lido/Flight 4D and NetLine/Load

Raunheim | November 23, 2017–Lufthansa Systems today announced that Argentinian carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas will continue to use Lufthansa Systems’ Lido/Flight 4D flight planning system and the NetLine/Load weight and balance application for the next five years. Both companies signed the contract renewal in August. Aerolíneas Argentinas has been using both products successfully since 2013.

“Our collaboration with Lufthansa Systems enables us to continue improving our service,” said Mario Dell’Acqua, President of Grupo Aerolíneas. “Our company is focused on growth, optimization and progress. The Lido/Flight 4D and NetLine/Load solutions enable us to equip our team with the right tools to ensure excellence in our flight operations. And our passengers will also continue to benefit from high-quality service.”

The core features of the Lido/Flight 4D flight planning solution are the integrated and continually updated aeronautical database and the so-called optimizer. Lido/Flight 4D calculates the most suitable route for each flight based on all flight-related data, weather conditions and the current airspace situation including any restrictions. Lido/Flight 4D is an enhanced and updated version of Lido/Flight, which has performed successfully in the market for over 20 years.

NetLine/Load weight supports airlines in the perfect distribution of baggage and cargo on board an aircraft. It covers all relevant load control parameters and calculates the optimal trim, load distribution and maximal weights for each flight – in an entirely automatic and individually configurable way. This significantly increases the productivity of load controllers and helps save fuel.

“Lido/Flight 4D and NetLine/Load are a perfect combination,” said Alexandre Santos, Senior Director Latin America South at Lufthansa Systems. “The automatic and continual exchange of what are known as estimate zero fuel weights (the estimated weight of the loaded aircraft without fuel) and fuel amounts enhances the efficiency of flight preparations. This also prevents the inaccuracies that arise from manual entry and, most importantly, helps airlines make fuel savings.”

A total of 450 airline experts are attending one of the world’s largest airline IT user conferences to find out about the latest innovations in the digital world of aviation.

Raunheim, Germany | May 8, 2017– “Spice IT up! – Digitalization and beyond” is the motto of the Lufthansa Systems Airline Forum, which starts today. A total of 450 participants from around 80 airlines worldwide will learn about the latest developments in the portfolio of the airline IT specialist. The focus is on Commercial Planning and Operations solutions from the NetLine and ProfitLine product lines. “This industry meeting, which is traditionally held in the Lufthansa Training & Conference Center in Seeheim, is one of the most important events in the airline IT sector,” said Ulrike Behrens, Head of Marketing at Lufthansa Systems, who organizes the Airline Forum. Lufthansa Systems advises and supports airlines in their digital transformation. The aviation IT experts show what sustainable airline processes can look like and provide hands-on support to customers in implementing their projects.

“Digitalization has a significant influence on working processes, business models and our daily life. This applies to the aviation industry as well. The core of our company strategy is to put airlines in a perfect position for the digital future,” said Olivier Krueger, CEO of Lufthansa Systems. “We are delighted to welcome so many of our customers’ representatives to the Airline Forum again this year.”

The keynote speech will be held by Lufthansa CIO Dr. Roland Schuetz. Other customers will also have the opportunity to speak and report on successful projects, including United Airlines and the Israeli airline EL AL. The next two and a half days will be devoted to some 80 lectures and workshops as well as personal conversations with product experts and other airlines. Attendees can put together their own individual program from a comprehensive range of topics. The focus will be on new product developments and innovations in the NetLine and ProfitLine product lines, which will be introduced by experts from Lufthansa Systems and its industry partners.

Automation and integration are key aspects in this context. Modern technologies make it easier to collect and evaluate data in order to identify anomalies and automatically learn from them or carry out certain actions. But it is also increasingly important for IT solutions – especially in the field of operations – to be able to share this data and interact with one another in order to make the best decisions and optimize processes. Communication also plays an essential role in the digital world. It should be fast, simple and possible from anywhere. Mobile solutions and a user-friendly layout help meet these demands.

“At the Airline Forum, we present new industry trends and product portfolio developments to our customers. We also want to talk with them about market challenges, new technologies and smart solutions for their specific requirements,” said Stefan Auerbach, CEO of Lufthansa Systems.

The Market Place provides plenty of room for this dialog. This is where Airline Forum participants can try out the product innovations for themselves right after the sessions. Their feedback is critical to the further optimization of Lufthansa Systems’ products.

• A total of 110 airlines plan routes using the flight planning system from Lufthansa Systems

Raunheim, Germany | December 3, 2015– The year 2015 was a successful one for the Lido/Flight flight planning system from Lufthansa Systems. In addition to several new contracts, contract renewals and product implementations, the experts of the airline IT specialist are working on the new generation of the solution, Lido/Flight 4D. Lido/Flight is being used successfully worldwide by leading airlines of all sizes, business models and alliances – including low-cost, network, cargo and charter airlines.

Lido/Flight has performed successfully in the market for more than 15 years. This year, the customer base expanded to comprise a total fleet of around 5,800 aircraft. A total of 110 airlines are currently using Lido/Flight to calculate over 30,000 flights daily. Lufthansa Systems acquired important new customers for its flight planning solution in 2015, and several existing customers renewed their contracts. “We are especially proud of our eight successful implementations – the most extensive and, in terms of the Chinese market, most important one being the implementation for China’s largest airline, China Southern. After the project implementation phase, it’s always nice to see our customers profiting from our solution in their daily business and planning optimal routes with Lido/Flight,” said Dr. Bernd Jurisch, Vice President Lido/Flight at Lufthansa Systems.

Lufthansa Systems also offers its customers the opportunity to set up a cross-airline platform for Lido/Flight. Two such platforms were successfully introduced for customers this year so that the participating partner airlines can leverage synergies and plan their flights even more efficiently. There are a number of advantages to a shared platform: First, the airlines save money thanks to the simplified infrastructure because every participating customer can access the same system from their respective sites. They also benefit from operational advantages – both in their daily work and in the event of operational irregularities. This is because the shared platform enables all of the partners to plan each other’s routes and comprehensively optimize processes in the Operations Control Center. A total of three platforms are in use, one involving four airlines and two with three airlines each.

The core features of the flight planning solution are the integrated and continually updated aeronautical database and the so-called optimizer. Based on all flight-related data, weather conditions and the current airspace situation including any restrictions, Lido/Flight fully automatically or interactively calculates the most suitable route for each flight. The system has around 2,700 configuration parameters, enabling it to be adapted to specific customer requirements and regulations. Lido/Flight provides dispatchers with significant optimization options regarding flight time, fuel consumption or costs of each flight. In various comparative analyses based on more than 4,000 flight plans, Lido/Flight was able to reduce fuel costs by an average of 2 percent, cut flying times by 1.9 percent and save 1.6 percent of air traffic control fees compared to its competitors.

Lufthansa Systems is working closely with its customers and partners on the further development of the system. The focus is on modern 4D optimization based on various target functions as well as the further automation of flight planning and control processes. “With Lido/Flight 4D, we will meet future flight planning and control demands while expanding our market share at the same time,” Jurisch explained. “We will continue to focus on this project in the new year.”