StorkJet Wins EU Backing to Build More Precise, Aircraft-Specific Performance Models

StorkJet, a Polish aviation software company focused on machine-learning-based flight operations tools, has secured €1.6 million in European Union funding toward a €2.5 million project aimed at making aircraft performance models significantly more accurate. Today, most operational flight-planning systems apply a single performance correction factor per aircraft tail, even though real-world performance actually varies with weight, altitude, speed and temperature, meaning the same correction can be too generous in some conditions and too conservative in others. StorkJet's project will develop multidimensional performance corrections that reflect how each individual aircraft actually behaves across its full operating envelope, rather than relying on one static adjustment. The company plans to validate the new models against real operational data and design them to plug into the flight planning and flight management systems airlines already use, rather than requiring a separate standalone tool. StorkJet is contributing €910,000 of its own funding alongside the EU grant, bringing the total project value to €2.5 million. The stated aims are more precise fuel planning, reduced fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and incremental gains in operational efficiency and safety, modest-sounding improvements that can add up to meaningful savings at fleet scale given how sensitive airline margins are to fuel costs.