In an industry first, aviation analytics company Cirium has launched a tool that analyses an airline’s routes using satellite-based flight tracking data to identify actual flights flown by aircraft type. It uses applied analytics to derive routes flown by airlines leveraging satellite-based flight tracking and fuses this with advanced fleet data.
The new, premium feature is part of Cirium’s Ascend Profiles, which visualizes aircraft intelligence of airline or lessor profiles and provides quick and accurate insights showing the latest 12-month year-over-year flights flown by an airline’s routes and can be viewed by flights, seats and Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs). Aircraft lessors, banks or aircraft manufacturers can use it to identify the aircraft flown by route for 1,700 airlines and factor development opportunities or risk into their decision making.
The Airline Routes tool is the first of its kind to bring together such advanced data – the satellite-based flight tracking and the comprehensive fleet data – meaning businesses can conduct quick yet accurate due diligence on an airline portfolio.
Kevin Hightower, Cirium VP of Product
By leveraging satellite-based flight tracking data the tool identifies what routes and aircraft airlines actually flew rather than what they planned to fly providing the most accurate flight completion picture. “Understanding which aircraft an airline is actually flying and on what routes is critical to identify where aircraft demand may be and whether an airline is growing or reducing their network”, said the company’s VP of Product Kevin Hightower.
In the statement announcing the new tool, Cirium exemplified how it works on India’s low-cost carrier IndiGo, which recently announced it was looking to grow its international network and further solidify its domestic operations. According to Ascend Profiles, IndiGo has a fleet of 306 aircraft – (270 in service and 35 in storage), plus 501 on order. Of the total aircraft, 36% are on operating lease.
The tool shows which two-way international routes IndiGo was operating this January which it was not in January 2022. For example, 172 flights were tracked on the newly added route between Indira-Gandhi International Airport in Delhi to Tribhuvan International in Kathmandu. All operated using Airbus A320s.
Additionally, it shows the bi-directional routes for which the airline has ramped up operations. The carrier saw the most significant growth on the Singapore – Bengaluru route, where it completed 62 flights, all using A320s, this January versus only one flight, using an A321, last January. IndiGo also substantially increased its operations this year on the Dubai – Ahmedabad route, completing five times the number of flights in Jan 23 when compared with Jan 22.
