VENDOR FLIGHT LOG: Honeywell Forge

Boris Bliznakov shares the all-around efficiency improvement offer that keeps Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency growing from strength to strength

Boris has been in the aviation industry for more than 12 years and part of Honeywell for the last seven years. Within the Honeywell Connected Enterprise, his responsibilities include product development and strategy of the Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency portfolio. He holds an MSc Aviation Management from Cranfield University, where he specialized in Airline Sustainability SaaS Solutions and Airport Planning and Management.

Aircraft IT: Your name, your job title and the name of the business?

Boris Bliznakov: Boris Bliznakov, Senior Product Manager for Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency, part of the Honeywell Forge suite of enterprise performance management solutions.

Aircraft IT: How did Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency get started?

BB: Originally, Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency was created in 2009 as Aviaso’s fuel efficiency software. Honeywell acquired Aviaso in 2015, merging Honeywell’s comprehensive service offerings and industry leadership with Aviaso’s domain expertise. Since then, the start-up point solution has grown into a Flight Data Analytics platform, expanding beyond the fuel efficiency use case to address cross-domain use cases like Sustainability, On-Time Performance, Flight Safety and Maintenance, and Operational Efficiency.

Aircraft IT: What is the guiding business principle that drives Honeywell Forge?

BB: Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency is part of a diverse collection of Honeywell Forge solutions that serve verticals including airlines, industrial, warehouse, buildings and more. At its core, Honeywell Forge solution is an enterprise performance management system that reinvents the way industries measure, analyze and run their complex operations. This means we provide software and services that allow customers to future-proof their investments, make data-driven decisions, and accelerate their digital transformation.

Aircraft IT: What has Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency’s greatest business achievement been to date, and why?

BB: We are proud to be the flight efficiency and analytics software of record for more than 30 airlines globally of all types and sizes. Over 2,700 tails on average report data daily to our system. Our greatest achievement is earning the trust and partnership of these customers, several of whom pre-date our transition to Honeywell — and some of whom have been with us since the beginning.

“Over 2,700 tails on average report data daily to our system. Our greatest achievement is earning the trust and partnership of these customers, several of whom pre-date our transition to Honeywell — and some of whom have been with us since the beginning.”

“…Flight Operations Efficiency based on data-driven decisions is here right now and can contribute significantly to CO2 reduction. Our decade-plus experience optimizing flight planning and operations means airlines can maximize the efficiency potential of both their current and future-state infrastructure as their fleet technology grows and evolves…”

Aircraft IT: What have been your disappointments and what have you learned from them?

BB: It is always disappointing to see airlines leaving savings potential on the table due to lack of timely communication. For instance, when key stakeholders are not fully engaged in the Efficiency Improvement program, optimization opportunities can be missed as a result. We have learned that we must keep providing the right communication tools to all stakeholders while sharing our knowledge and expertise on how they can make Flight Efficiency a truly company-wide initiative.

Aircraft IT: In a sentence, how would you summarize what Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency does for aircraft operations customers?

BB: More than a fuel efficiency tool, Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency captures and consolidates data from dozens of sources on and off the aircraft, cleanses and qualifies the data, and provides customizable analytics and reports that can enhance company-wide efficiency and sustainability initiatives while reducing fuel usage and lowering overall carbon emissions.

Aircraft IT: What do you feel will be the next big thing in operations Aviation IT?

BB: This is already a current trend, but we believe sustainable operations and net-zero carbon goals will become universal — with even more aggressive timelines. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and aircraft technology advancements as well as fleet renewal will be the long-term goals for the industry. However, Flight Operations Efficiency based on data-driven decisions is here right now and can contribute significantly to CO2 reduction. Our decade-plus experience optimizing flight planning and operations means airlines can maximize the efficiency potential of both their current and future-state infrastructure as their fleet technology grows and evolves.

Aircraft IT: What do you want your customers to say about Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency?

BB: We want our customers to say the Honeywell Forge Flight Efficiency has completely transformed their operations and allowed them to maximize their efficiency potential. By equipping them with historic data and analytics, we want our customers to be able to make meaningful, data-driven decisions powered by our tool — and then see the impact of those decisions per flight and cumulatively fleetwide. This continuous feedback and validation empowers our customers to continue trusting our solution, cyclically making decisions that reduce their fuel consumption or expand to new internal use cases. Hearing that our customers are continuing to benefit and improve operations with our tool is what makes our efforts worth the investment.