Flight-tracking provider FlightAware has made its full dataset available to customers who can use the company’s new AeroAPI application programming interface (API) to view the data. While FlightAware (Booth 3631) has provided some of this information previously, such access required the help of a FlightAware analyst.
“What we have here is an unparalleled dataset for understanding what has happened, is happening, and will be happening,” said Matt Davis, FlightAware chief commercial officer. “It’s like a time portal.”
The FlightAware dataset includes more than 713 million flights recorded since the company was founded in 2011, and that grows by more than 142,000 flights per day, according to Davis. Collins Aerospace acquired FlightAware in late 2021.
Airlines, business aircraft operators, FBOs, aircraft manufacturers, and individuals use FlightAware to track flights, including pushback, departure, landing, and gate arrival times, as well as events during flights such as holds. This gives users detailed information about the flights they are tracking and the ability to predict with high accuracy where and when the aircraft will arrive. “It’s based on machine learning,” he said, “and it’s better than the flight management system itself.”
AeroAPI is a query-based API, he explained. “It’s nothing more than saying we’re offering you a menu where you can place your order with the waiter, the waiter goes to the kitchen—our database—retrieves the thing you have ordered, then brings it on a plate with utensils to properly consume. You ask a question about a flight or set of flights, a fleet, or something that happened at an airport, and the API takes the instruction, goes into the dataset, finds the relevant answer, and delivers it to you.”
FlightAware expects many types of users will find AeroAPI and the historical data useful, according to Davis. Fleet operators could gain insights to help improve efficiency. An aircraft manufacturer might delve into historical data for the aircraft it built to learn how they are operated, where they fly, and how often, which could help with plans for new models.
Looking at the data might show where parts should be located to keep customers’ aircraft flying. A charter/management company might use the data to find new markets and customers. “There are big benefits to having access to this data,” he said. “We’re encouraging application developers to use this data.”
An interactive developer page is available to help customers, including a kit repository of sample apps and services that can be easily adapted. Pricing for the data depends on usage, with three subscription tiers available. The highest offers access to premium data layers.
On the launch of AeroAPI, FlightAware is making available up to 10 days of historical data, but that will expand to the full dataset within three months.
“Data is an untapped frontier for aviation,” Davis said. “The industry is looking for great ways to unlock new capacity without having to throw labor and people at problems. They need better information on how to make better decisions, allocate resources more efficiently, and do more with less.”
