ATLANTA, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Berlin software provider PACE and Lufthansa's regional carrier Lufthansa CityLine today introduced the new flight performance tool Pacelab CI OPS. The latest Pacelab product enables flexible cost index optimization at the flight planning stage and in tactical on-board flight management and was developed in close collaboration with experts of launch customer Lufthansa CityLine. The airline will use the software to improve the operating efficiency of its Bombardier CRJ fleet, with an expected annual reduction of fuel burn and emissions of CO2 and other pollutants of at least two percent.

Cost index (CI) optimization aims to determine the optimum, or most economical, airspeed by counterbalancing time-dependent operating costs such as crew salaries, incremental maintenance and fuel costs.

To tap the full savings potential of cost index optimization, Lufthansa CityLine will run the Pacelab CI OPS software on all future Electronic Flight Bags, enabling crews to dynamically update the initial planned cruise procedure as flight conditions change. In order to cover the widest possible range of scenarios, varying indices may be used in the calculation. In addition, Pacelab CI OPS will be used to generate first principle-based CI data for Lufthansa's operational flight planning tool "Lido OC".

"Being able to calculate optimal trajectories on the spot is a giant step forward, especially with all present constraints taken into account. The software delivers operational data which have not been available for regional aircraft before -- but even on short-distance flights, the efficiency gains are huge", says Capt. Joachim Scheiderer, Manager Flight Engineering at Lufthansa CityLine and responsible for the airline's fuel conservation program.

"We are very pleased to break new ground with Pacelab CI OPS. The application of fresh, sophisticated software is 100 percent in line with our Upgrade to Industry Leadership initiative, which promotes innovative thinking and the elimination of inefficiencies wherever they occur," agrees Klaus Froese, Lufthansa CityLine Managing Director.

"We see great market potential for Pacelab CI OPS because it gives airlines instant and tangible benefits -- both in terms of fuel economy and emission reduction. In Lufthansa CityLine, a widely recognized innovation leader, we have found the perfect launch customer," says Dr. Oliver Kranz, PACE managing partner.

NOTE TO EDITORS

About Lufthansa CityLine

Lufthansa CityLine, as a wholly-owned group company of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, is one of five strong partners in the Lufthansa Regional concept. In 2007, more than 7.3 million passengers flew with Lufthansa CityLine. With its fleet of 74 modern and environmentally compatible medium- and short-range jets, Lufthansa CityLine serves all important airports across Europe with a total of up to 500 daily flights. Lufthansa CityLine counts 2,522 employees, of whom 736 work in the cockpit, 893 in the cabin and 893 on the ground in the technical and administrative areas (as of December 31, 2007).

About PACE

PACE, with offices in the U.S., Germany, and France, develops knowledge- based engineering software that helps customers in the aerospace and automotive industries to design, operate and market highly engineered products and increase their productivity and competitiveness. These include Airbus, Air France, Bombardier, Embraer, Emirates, Eurocopter, ExpressJet Airlines, GECAS, Hawaiian Airlines, Rolls-Royce, Snecma and Sukhoi. More information about PACE is available on the Internet at www.pacelab.com.