4 Benefits of Digitizing Your Into-Plane Service

Into-plane service providers are an essential part of the aviation industry. Tasked with fueling aircraft between their arrival and departure at airports, a refueler’s working day can be challenging but rewarding.

One of the main challenges faced by into-plane providers is efficiency. Airports are busy, dynamic environments that often require on-site services to adapt their schedules at short notice to meet flight time requirements.

Working in an environment that is constantly in flux requires excellent communication between stakeholders and flawless but flexible resource planning. This can be a challenge, but even more so if your into-plane company isn’t using the right tools. 

Our world is increasingly connected by online systems that rely on sharing data, which must then be recorded. For into-plane operators and refuelers, that meant writing everything down using pen and paper before giving it to someone else to enter into a spreadsheet or database for electronic storage.

Immediately, you can see why this approach leads to inefficiencies. As anyone who has worked in data entry knows, manual data entry means double the work and a significant risk of data transfer errors. That’s just one example of how digitization, or ‘digitalization’, can help. 

These terms are often used interchangeably but refer to different stages of the same journey. Digitization means converting something from an analog format to a digital one, whereas digitalization means using digital technologies to change a business model. Digitizing your operations inevitably leads to digitalizing your business.

A good example of digitizing your operations would be fuel receipts. Instead of writing fuel totals on a paper form or printing out a paper ticket for flight deck sign-off, the entire fueling process is automatically captured using smart technology such as tablets. The data is transferred electronically and is stored securely in a digital cloud, rather than sitting in a forgotten folder on a shelf.

Digitization also involves implementing flight data feeds for your operations instead of relying on 3rd-party websites or static timetable spreadsheets. Knowing exactly when flights are due to land, even when they are off-schedule, means knowing which aircraft to fuel, where it will be and when, and how much fuel is required well in advance.

Digitization ultimately enables into-plane providers to improve the efficiency, safety, and reliability of their service while also providing multiple advantages that can put your company ahead of the competition.

You can see the full list of advantages we’ve identified in our ebook, ‘8 Benefits of Digitizing Your Into-Plane Fuel Services’, which also includes a complete list of essential features to look for when digitalizing your business.

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 To give you a taste, let’s look at some of the main benefits now:

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Benefit 1: Operational Cost Savings

Ultimately, digitizing the entire end-to-end fuel lifecycle saves you money. Everything from fuel delivery to storage, usage, reconciliation, and invoicing can be digitized to increase operational efficiency and reduce turnaround times. 

The faster you can refuel an aircraft ready for departure, the more fuel orders you can complete in a day. Over time, that efficiency solidifies your reputation for excellent service and brings additional revenue to your business on a per-order basis.

Digitization means tasks such as manual data entry are no longer required, as data is automatically transferred electronically directly from the refueler’s tablet to the cloud. That means you can optimize your resources to assign to more valuable tasks.

Transferring information digitally also ensures your data is more reliable. Having fewer data errors and accurate records is essential for into-plane providers, who often have to produce reports on historical operational data for airlines, fuel suppliers, or external auditors - all of whom expect error-free perfection.

Luckily, digitization also enables your data to be securely accessed from anywhere in the world and transferred to a variety of formats for when your customers and stakeholders want to see your reports.

The benefits extend beyond into-plane operations, too - digitization also allows fuel suppliers to understand the exact quantity of fuel required on-site and react accordingly to ensure a constant uninterrupted supply. It ensures airlines receive precisely the fuel needed, with no costly excess fuel charges or additional fuel weight in their aircraft creating unnecessary carbon emissions.

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Benefit 2: Real-time Visibility

As the saying goes, you can’t improve what you can’t see. Equipping your operators with a list of tasks and sending them onto the apron without being able to track their progress means you have zero chance of identifying where improvements can be made.

Real-time data is exactly that - information shared at the exact time of capture to everyone who needs it, often using a combination of Bluetooth and cloud technology.

With real-time data visibility, you see what the refueler sees, exactly as it happens. As the fuel gauge on the flowmeter changes during a refuel, so does the information on your screen. When they complete an order and start getting ready to go to their next destination, you receive a notification.

This approach makes allocating operators to your fuel orders much easier. No more desperately looking through a list of who’s on shift, who’s currently working on an order, who’s on a break, and who’s certified to carry out certain tasks. With real-time data you get access to dynamic adaptive scheduling - allowing you to assign your resources in the most efficient way possible, automatically adapting and replanning your schedule when flight changes and delays occur.

Another advantage of real-time data is logistic telemetry. Put simply, this means you can see where your fueling vehicles and operators are at any point during the day. Digitization allows you to track their movements on a live location map, allowing you to allocate your resources more efficiently.

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Benefit 3: Operational Adaptability

Adaptability is essential for any into-plane provider. The best-laid plans can be instantly rendered obsolete when one element is not where it should be on paper. 

Unfortunately, multiple factors can lead to timetable disruption for an airport and its services - unexpected or extreme weather conditions or strong winds, unexpected flight arrivals, late departures due to required maintenance or restocking delays, Air Traffic Control strikes, runway congestion, or other unforeseen issues can all lead to unexpected delays.

When all you have to work with is a pen, paper, and a walkie-talkie, it takes very little for small delays to snowball into real issues due to lack of communication and visibility. But digitization brings real-time data  - and that means real-time adaptability.

With smart allocation systems, waiting for the refueler to arrive at the gate is a thing of the past. Digitization means the operator is at the gate exactly when required, leading to fewer frustrations and faster completion times, increasing your order capacity and pleasing your customers.

Another immediate benefit of digitization is instant communication. If the pilot or airline requires more or less fuel than originally requested, they can request fuel order amendments digitally. The request can even be made as the aircraft is being refueled, preventing unnecessary decoupling and recoupling. This request can then be accepted, actioned, and reported back immediately.

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Benefit 4: Airline Connectivity

We’ve already discussed the advantages of airlines sharing their data feeds as part of the digitalization process, allowing them to see changes to flight schedules in advance. But there are also digitization improvements available on the apron which benefit both the into-plane provider and airlines.

Refueling with paper tickets often requires the operator to walk through the plane to get order approval. They may even hold a ticket up to the aircraft window using a long stick. This is not a good look for companies aiming to present themselves as modern-thinking cutting-edge professionals. 

Digitization means no more walking up to the flight deck for sign-off, as both the pilot and refueler communicate seamlessly via tablets in real-time, with the data fed back and recorded instantly. 

The airline staff can amend required fuel figures during fueling, preventing having to start the entire process again. That means a fast, professional, delay-free service for the into-plane company and a better customer experience for the airline.

It also means sharing your data via reports is easier than ever. No more rummaging through files or spreadsheets trying to find specific information requested by the airline. With all data stored in the cloud, preparing a bespoke report can take just a few clicks to provide a professional document that is immediately shareable online.

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As mentioned above, these are not the only benefits of digitalizing your business - you can see the full list of identified advantages and essential features to look for when digitizing your operations in our ebook - click the link below to learn more.

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