Budget airline EasyJet is carrying out an IT-driven strategic shift in its aircraft management, back office and customer-facing operations to cut fuel costs and grow revenue.

After an internal review of systems, processes and manual procedures, the carrier devised a strategy to optimise aircraft maintenance costs and improve customer demand for products and services.

EasyJet’s IT director Tim Newing is challenged with introducing innovation while maintaining the airline’s low-cost policy.

“If I look back to two months ago, perhaps that was not right at the top of my priorities, but now there is much more emphasis on understanding how we can save on fuel. That has become a very important part of the IT agenda,” said Newing.

Central to the review process are systems related to overseeing aircraft engineering maintenance and servicing. Newing is negotiating with a supplier for dedicated software to change the business processes.

“Most of the engineering is outsourced, so we rely on the suppliers to tell us when the aircraft needs to have work done and decisions related to any improvement or servicing work,” he said.

“We want to bring that capability in-house, with our system connecting to that of our suppliers, so we can manage resources more tightly and get cost savings. The intention is not necessarily taking over the whole process, but having management oversight of what they are doing.”

Part of the cost control strategy is a new flight planning system. From November, EasyJet hopes to tackle delays and optimise fuel consumption by choosing more efficient routes. The planning system is based on a package supplied by Lido, part of the Lufthansa group.

EasyJet is a keen proponent of packaged systems, but is not too concerned about going for large mainstream suppliers, and recently chose a package from Agresso for its financial management.

“We tend to go to the people who sell their products in a cost-effective manner. We don’t necessarily go for the lowest price, but for the best value, on a cost of ownership basis,” said Newing.

“We probably have one of the lowest IT cost basis within a major airline and will continue to drive that down.”

Cost-cutting is also expected to stem from office applications. “I am very interested in the potential of open source products in applications such as public mail services and office-type software, instead of providing everyone with a licensed version,” said Newing.

“The only problem is I am not yet certain that these applications are mature enough for our environment.”

Improving business intelligence has become a priority, providing EasyJet with a clear picture of demand, allowing it to manage resources accordingly and use the data to intensify marketing for less popular routes.

Automation is also part of EasyJet’s plans to reduce overheads involved in managing processes between the ground and work carried out by its crew.

From next month devices will be piloted in Manchester to automate data analysis and restocking of items sold on the plane. And staff at Luton airport will begin using PDAs with belt-mounted printers, to enable charging for excess luggage as passengers queue for check-in.