Virgin monitors planes in the air

Boeing delivers in-flight data to improve efficiency

Virgin boss Richard Branson

Virgin Atlantic will monitor the conditions of its planes while in flight following an agreement with Boeing to supply airplane health management systems.

The software will gather in-flight data on the real time condition on Virgin Atlantic’s 747 planes, which can allow it to identify efficiency problems.

The carrier will be able to assess issues such as fuel burn so that it can reduce wasted fuel and reduce emissions.

Airplane health management software can also allow airlines to begin working on faults in the air, preventing costly on-ground maintenance delays and minimising disruption to passengers.

Virgin Atlantic says the system also provides fleet-wide information aggregated from other airlines, which can then be used to determine the effectiveness of maintenance strategies and fix faults before they become problems.