Traveling by plane has changed a lot. Now it is easier, faster, more accessible with the arrival of low-cost companies and we also see how many airlines have already started their decarbonization plans to mitigate their impact on the environment.
All of this has been influenced - among other factors - by the implementation of new technologies in airplanes, flight planning systems and the organization of the airports themselves. Inside the plane, in addition, it is easy to see changes such as the management of passenger boarding and disembarkation, the arrival of Wi-Fi or the incorporation of lighter seats. Everything has a reason and for this reason, we review some of these changes with the help of different Vueling experts.
Generation Z, and even a majority of millennials, may not know it, but many surely remember the boarding passes from a few years ago, in which you received a kind of physical mini dossier with the details of the flight.
Now, however, it is possible to manage the entire process from our mobile device. Thanks to airline apps, it has been possible to improve the customer experience by allowing you to book, check-in, change flights or save boarding passes. A natural, intuitive form of interaction that uses formats familiar to most users.
Taking a plane today is simpler, easier and faster also thanks to the development of biometric technology.
Thus, by incorporating this facial recognition system, passengers can complete the entire journey: from the security checkpoint to the plane, 'by face'. That is, without the need to show documentation or the boarding pass.
In this area, Vueling has implemented boarding by facial recognition in collaboration with AENA, who is responsible for processing the data of this program. This allows passengers to register into the system through the airline's app and associate their face with their ticket and ID card or passport.
These advances translate into a complete airport experience, with identity verification using a camera, eliminating the need to show other documentation and allowing you to pass all security filters and board with your hands in your pockets. Additionally, the airline plans to expand the use of biometrics at all stages of the airport experience, in order to make the journey even more comfortable for passengers.
“This technology clearly improves their experience at the airport, making the steps and procedures to follow much simpler, easier and faster and, therefore, we are helping them gain time and comfort when taking a plane” , explains Rodolfo Moreira, director of Customer Experience at Vueling.
It may seem like a truism, but airplanes weigh a lot. Replacing traditional materials with new, more friction-resistant and lighter alloys applied to aircraft with an increasingly aerodynamic design translates into a reduction in fuel use, and, therefore, in CO₂ emissions.
If they also operate with quieter engines, the welfare benefits for residents close to the airports are clear. In this sense, Franc Sanmartí, Director of Sustainability at Vueling, points out how aircraft with new generation engines have been incorporated "that reduce fuel use by approximately 20%, and noise by half."
Along these lines, Sanmartí highlights the key role played by sustainable aviation fuels, known as SAF, in the advancement of aviation by mitigating its impact on the environment. “The air transport sector has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. In fact, IAG, the group to which we belong, was the first airline group to commit to this.”
“Sustainable aviation fuel – adds Sanmartí – already makes it possible to reduce emissions by more than 80% compared to fossil fuel.” It is produced from organic waste (used oils, animal fats, agricultural waste...) and also from green hydrogen mixing it with CO₂. Refueling the plane is identical to if it were done with kerosene, the engine is the same and the passenger does not notice anything different about their flight. “The challenge is that it is still scarce. To further reduce our emissions we would need a much larger volume of SAF. And this is the great challenge: scaling the production of this fuel, which today represents only 0.1% of global demand.”
The transition to a fuel other than oil not only contributes to decarbonizing. It can become a powerful driving force for the Spanish economy. A study by Vueling and Iberia in collaboration with PwC in 2023 revealed that boosting the sustainable aviation fuel industry in Spain would contribute 56 billion euros to GDP and generate 270,000 jobs.
Sanmartí explains that “at IAG we have already committed an investment of more than 800 million for the use and manufacture of this fuel. "In 2023 alone we multiplied the quantity supplied of this fuel almost by 5 compared to 2022, which was the first year that we began to supply it in somewhat relevant volumes."
The weather is capricious and doesn't care about our plans to take a plane. Within meteorology, storms are like mischievous teenagers, capable of changing their course. That a summer storm that is over Castellón decides to go towards Barcelona or head towards Ibiza implies that there will be flights that will have to adjust their trajectory.
Here, artificial intelligence helps flight planners to reorganize traffic against the clock in the face of atmospheric phenomena with the least impact on passengers. “Another advantage of these new digitalization tools is that they allow us to optimize the efficiency of flight paths by taking advantage of the winds. Thus, less fuel use is necessary, which also translates into a reduction in emissions,” highlights Daniel Méndez, head of Innovation at Vueling.
Technological advances have also brought about an unprecedented change in the way airlines approach their processes and planning. Predictive Artificial Intelligence, for example, allows the use of statistical analysis to identify patterns and predict events.
An example of this transformation is the Airbus Skywise Predictive Maintenance system, incorporated by Vueling for the maintenance planning of its fleet. The airline is a pioneer in applying this system that allows it to predict the precise moment in which the planes will need maintenance from its own offices, without having to physically be working on the plane.
This technology thus allows maintenance events to be anticipated and planned more effectively. If we compare it to a car, with which many more people are surely familiar, this system would allow, for example, monitoring the suspension system. If the suspension levels were outside the thresholds determined by the algorithm, the driver would be notified of the need for inspection and maintenance. This in no way would mean that the car has problems, but rather that there is wear and tear and it is advisable to check the suspension to prevent it from having a breakdown in the future.
A disorderly boarding, with the passenger in row 7 blocking the aisle while placing his luggage, can annoy the passenger, but they are also essential minutes that, if repeated in other rows, hinder the arrival of passengers to their seats and can lead to takeoff delays.
To eliminate these 'traffic jams', Vueling groups the boarding of passengers and establishes clearly visible points next to the boarding gate so that the passengers themselves can distribute themselves without the need for further instructions. This simple system greatly speeds up access to the plane, reduces standing waiting times and avoids tensions between passengers.
Something similar happens with disembarkation, which is now carried out in ordered groups of five in five rows. In this way, the aisle remains clear and passengers can move forward or backward if they have forgotten any of their belongings without pushing or other inconveniences.
