Alaska's pioneering use of AI in flight operations continues to yield benefits, reinforcing its innovation legacy and facilitating more fuel-efficient air travel.

Alaska Airlines today announced the renewal of its partnership with Air Space Intelligence (ASI), creator of Flyways. This renewal reaffirms the airlines commitment to leveraging innovative technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to optimize operations while driving fuel efficiency benefits in service of the airline's sustainability journey and long-term path to net zero carbon emissions.

For the last four years, Alaska has utilized ASI's Flyways AI platform and the Dispatch application in their Network Operations Center. Dispatchers use Flyways to help them optimize flight routes, reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions, as well as improve on-time arrivals. On average Flyways AI has presented optimization opportunities for 55 percent of Alaska's flights and delivered three to five percent fuel savings and emissions reductions for flights longer than four hours. Specifically last year, optimized routes using Flyways AI saved over 1.2 million gallons of fuel, equivalent to 11,958 megatons of CO2 emissions. The savings Flyways delivered helped Alaska work towards its near-term goal of being the most fuel-efficient U.S. airlines by 2025.

"The Flyways AI platform has proven to be an invaluable asset, providing our fantastic dispatch team with a modern aircraft situation display for pre-departure flight planning and enroute flight following while achieving fuel savings, reducing carbon emissions, and ensuring a reliable and enjoyable travel experience for our guests," said Captain Bret Peyton, managing director of network operations control, Alaska Airlines. "Our partnership with Air Space Intelligence underscores our long-term commitment to innovation, running a great operation, technology advancement, and sustainability."

The Flyways AI Platform utilizes advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data, including weather patterns, winds, turbulence, airspace constraints and air traffic volume. Flyways AI then generates optimized route recommendations for dispatchers and pilots that are safe, ATC compliant, minimize fuel consumption, reduce flight time, and avoid potentially congested airspace. Additionally, the Flyways Dispatch application offers real-time insights and decision-making support to dispatchers, empowering them to proactively manage flights and respond to events before they have the potential to impact flights.

"We are elated to continue our collaboration with Alaska Airlines, a company that shares our vision for a more sustainable and efficient aviation industry," said Phillip Buckendorf, CEO at Air Space Intelligence. "The success of our partnership to date is a testament to the power of artificial intelligence to transform aviation and reaffirms our mutual dedication to harnessing AI to drive efficiency gains across all airline operations and deliver even greater benefits in the years ahead."

As Alaska continues to innovate and lead within the aviation industry, the renewed partnership with ASI represents a shared vision of leveraging AI to create a more efficient, reliable, and environmentally responsible future for air travel.