Since the first commercial flight which was in 1919 a lot has changed. Initially all of the things associated with flying were planned and done manually. Now when AI exists many of those tasks can be done automatically which results in improvement of both passengers and the air traffic flow. This technology can be also used in supporting ground services.
Why airlines and airports collect so much data?
Nowadays a lot of data is gathered in the aviation industry. It’s not only about technical aspects of planes and traffic management but also about passengers satisfaction. As we know customers in this case travellers are in this industry are the most important factor, because of how much money they spend every month or a year on flying. That’s why airlines and airports are now putting pressure on collecting feedback from passengers to improve their services.
How airlines use AI and Data Science to improve services?
With so much data gathered airlines can introduce it to various AI systems to get the work done for them, which is faster more accurate and definitely more convenient. There are many ways of using AI but let me focus on 4 that are in my opinion the most interesting to know about.
1.Predictive maintenance
For a long time airlines are struggling with a problem of flight delays or cancellations due to unplanned maintenance works. If something like that happens they are obliged to pay compensations for passengers that are stuck in airports. That’s why they have introduced predictive AI system which helps to monitor the health of specific parts in an aircraft. It also suggests mechanicians when such a part will need to be changed and how long it takes to do so. What’s more predictive algorithms can predict potential failures on a plane before they actually happen. With this predictive maintenance applied airline can reduce it expenses significantly. However AI can only assists in the maintenance process, but it won’t replace essential aircraft inspections.
2.In-airport self-service
In this area Covid 19 has changed a lot. Pandemic has speeded up the development process of self-service devices such as self-check-in machines. But that were the first steps in making a passengers trip automated. Today, airlines provide solutions that allow passengers to travel with using self-use devices from checking to boarding. For example during security check technology analysis your face and comperes it with the scan of your document that you need to put on a scanner. What’s more it also checks if you aren’t chased by a police. All those technologies are made to reduce the check in time and to improve passengers satisfaction. However traditional ways will still exist.
3.Flight and fuel optimalization
As you already know flight delays might be very costly for airlines, that’s why there are doing everything to avoid such situations. It’s not easy to plan and schedule everything considering all aspects connected with flight such as weather conditions and air traffic flow. Now AI analyses real time data such as traffic flow, weather conditions, turbulence and many other variables so that dispatchers can make better decisions. It is also meant to find optimal flight routes to decrease the amount of emission of carbon dioxide and also to reduce the fuel consumption.
4.Dynamic ticket pricing
If you ever booked a flight ticket you might have noticed that prices differ day after day. It differs because of many variables such as: departure time, destination, flight distance, and the number of available seats. The cost of the same ticket can change minute by minute. That’s because of airlines use AI system which is called dynamic pricing. It’s a technique of setting new prices so that they are the most profitable, unfortunately only for airlines.
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To sum up shortly AI is a tool that helps airlines to reduce their costs and improve their services. However it won’t always be the main way of dealing with problems in some aspects of aviation. Personally i think it enchances the way of traveling for passengers.
Let me know what are your thoughts. If you want to find out more about AI use in aviation industry i recommend you watching this video from altexsoft.
Sources:
altexsoft: https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/ai-airlines/
addepto: https://addepto.com/blog/fly-to-the-sky-with-ai-how-is-artificial-intelligence-used-in-aviation/
photo: https://www.topaviationsites.net/news/how-to-finance-an-aviation-business/
I think the reason why we invest so much money in AI is to make our life easier. The development of self-service at airports is definitely a way to go. We should keep on trying to make visits to those facilities shorter and more comfortable while maintaining the same security level. In my opinion, aviation companies will keep going even further and explore the possibilities of AI-driven planes. It’s definitely a very dynamic and worth following industry in years to come.
In my opinion there will be no AI that are self-flying planes. The situation is somehow similar to tesla cars. AI is not perfect and it can’t make good decisions every time. For example there is a possibility of AI landing by itself but what in a situation when there is a failure and a plane won’t be able to land on a runway and it will be forced to perform an emergency landing on water. I will agree that AI could be a great help for a pilot but it won’t take his job. But except that I totally agree with you that airlines will invest more money in self-service devices as well as they will try to discover new ways of using AI.
Thanks for the comment.
There are plenty of fields in which AI may replace a human being. Aviation is one of them. We already have autonomous drones, which fly without the need of a pilot steering it. I think its the matter of time when there will be a first ever autonomous plane that will transport people. However, it’s a long time to come, as the technology have to improve. We almost now have planes that are flying by themselves (using autopilot) but the human being (a pilot) is just making slight edits. However, there is still time, as it is years to come, before the pilot job will be gone. Many safety concerns are raised, as well as people wouldn’t rely 100% on AI aeroplane. Thank you! I really enjoyed the article.