Global Avionics Round-Up from Aircraft Value News (AVN)
Honeywell in the second quarter of 2024 launched Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace, a cloud-based platform employing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This AI-enhanced software suite is gaining traction with customers, with an order book that’s expected to accelerate in 2025.
Honeywell Forge Flight Performance+ is an improved version of Honeywell’s Forge Flight Efficiency, first introduced in 2019, which is a next-generation avionics platform that focuses on reducing fuel consumption and boosting operational performance.
Integrated into popular aircraft manufactured by Airbus and Boeing, the Forge product utilizes advanced algorithms, real-time data analytics, and cloud computing to deliver comprehensive insights into flight paths, fuel use, and environmental conditions.
This software not only monitors fuel consumption patterns but actively suggests optimal routes and speed adjustments in-flight, which directly impacts fuel efficiency.
The game-changing nature of Forge lies in its predictive capabilities. By analyzing historical data and current flight conditions, it forecasts the most efficient flight paths and altitudes, considering variables such as weather, air traffic, and even airport congestion. This predictive intelligence enables airlines to streamline fuel usage, reduce emissions, and improve on-time performance.
This innovation is positively impacting the values and lease rates of aircraft equipped with Forge, especially amid rising fuel costs and regulatory pressures for carbon emissions reductions. Lessors find Forge-equipped aircraft to be a valuable asset due to the efficiency benefits. Aircraft outfitted with Forge command higher lease rates and values as airlines look for ways to meet fuel economy targets while cutting operational costs.
As Forge integrates with more aircraft models, Honeywell’s solution is set to become a key driver of value in the aviation leasing market.
The Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency software suite has been integrated primarily in major commercial aircraft models like the Airbus A320, A330, and A350 families, as well as the Boeing 737, 777, and 787 families. These aircraft benefit significantly from Forge’s suite, which helps optimize fuel use, streamline flight planning, and improve real-time decision-making. Boeing, in particular, is emphasizing every possible advantage it has, as the once-mighty aerospace manufacturer grapples with a litany of legal and regulatory woes due to safety lapses.
Data has shown that avionics directly affect values and lease pricing; the newer and more capable the avionics, the more valuable the aircraft in which it is embedded. This avionics-related metric has been given short shrift by the valuation industry in the past, but that myopia is quickly changing as avionics technology rapidly advances.
Aircraft OEMs, operators, and lessors are including new avionics products such as the Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency software in their algorithms that assess an aircraft model’s intrinsic worth.
Demand for aircraft equipped with Honeywell Forge has increased as airlines prioritize fuel efficiency and sustainability. The software helps operators reduce operating costs by improving fuel management and optimizing routes.
This capability has been particularly attractive as fuel prices fluctuate and environmental regulations tighten, positioning these models as more cost-effective and environmentally conscious choices in the fleet.
This article also appears in the November 4 issue of our partner publication Aircraft Value News.
John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Aircraft Value News. You can reach John at: [email protected]