IAG rolls out AI fuel-efficiency software across its airlines

International Airlines Group has signed up for OpenAirlines' SkyBreathe fuel-efficiency platform and is putting it into service across its carriers, the group says. The software draws on operational data from more than 600 aircraft flown by Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Level and Vueling.

Rising fuel prices and geopolitical pressure on costs drove the decision. Fuel is among the biggest expenses for IAG's airlines, and chief financial and sustainability officer Jose Antonio Barrionuevo said price swings have made efficiency gains more urgent. Better operational insight, he said, should let the carriers find savings faster and burn less unnecessary fuel.

SkyBreathe combines flight plans, weather forecasts and aircraft performance data to identify where fuel can be saved. According to IAG, those savings come without any reduction in safety standards. OpenAirlines puts the potential cut in fuel consumption at as much as 5%.

IAG's airlines already use several fuel-saving practices: optimised flight paths, less use of auxiliary power units on the ground and taxiing on reduced engine counts. Until now those measures were tracked through separate systems, the group says. SkyBreathe gives the carriers one data and reporting framework, so they can compare performance on the same basis and share what works.

The platform is already running at Aer Lingus, Iberia, Level and Vueling. British Airways expects to finish its rollout in the coming months. OpenAirlines founder and chief executive Alexandre Feray said the system is built to handle the scale of large airline groups and to let carriers work to a single method. The company says its platform community saved about 714 million kg of fuel in 202x.