APiJET, a Seattle-based aviation data analytics company, says it has landed the first commercial license for a NASA flight-optimization technology known as Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests, or TASAR.

TASAR has been compared to Waze, a smartphone app that shows drivers the quickest route through tangled traffic. The NASA-developed software analyzes real-time data feeds, including air traffic, to recommend fuel-saving and time-saving flight trajectories for pilots. APiJET partnered with Alaska Airlines to try out the technology back in April, following up on earlier NASA trials.

A study reviewing those trials estimated annual cost savings at nearly $15 million a year. Buoyed by the results, APiJET said it reached agreement with NASA for commercialization in November. The new offering will be marketed under the name Digital Winglets.
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