Airbus and its partners complete successful wake energy recovery trials

• Airbus, in collaboration with Air France, Delta Air Lines, French Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and air traffic management partners (AirNav Ireland, DSNA, EUROCONTROL and NATS), has successfully completed a new phase of trials for the Felo’fly project.
• Inspired by the flight formations of geese, Felo’fly aims to reduce fuel consumption through “wake energy recovery,” where the following aircraft takes advantage of the lift generated by a lead aircraft – potentially saving up to 5 percent fuel consumption on long-haul flights.
• Between September and October 2025, eight test flights were conducted over the North Atlantic as part of the SESAR Joint Undertake GEESE project.

Airbus, in partnership with Air France, Delta Air Lines, French Bee, Virgin Atlantic, and operations partners Airnav Ireland, DSNA, Eurocontrol and NATS, has successfully completed a new phase of trials for the Airbus Felo’fly project.

Fello’fly takes inspiration from migrating geese and showcases the power of cooperation by pairing flights to reduce fuel consumption. Using this flight technique, the first aircraft creates altitude that increases the fuel efficiency of subsequent aircraft, which is called “wake energy recovery.” Once operational, wake energy recovery has the potential to deliver fuel savings of up to 5% on long-haul flights.

These experiments, consisting of eight flights over the North Atlantic Sea between September and October 2025, within the framework of the SESAR Joint Undertake GEESE project, aim to demonstrate that the operational concept is a feasible and safe way to direct two aircraft to rendezvous at a specific time and place (rendezvous operation), while maintaining full vertical separation and remaining compliant with air traffic regulations. While actual wake energy recovery flights have not yet been tested on commercial flights, successfully completing the rendezvous process is a critical first step toward future efficiency gains.

Each experiment required close coordination between the two companies’ ground operations control centers, four air traffic control centers and two flight crews. Active participation by AirNav Ireland, Air France, Delta Air Lines, DSNA, EUROCONTROL Network Manager, French bee, NATS and Virgin Atlantic, using the interface of the EUROCONTROL Innovation Centre, was key to proving the soundness and practicality of the concept in real-world conditions.

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