Quantum Algorithms Take Flight: Lufthansa Explores Route Optimization Using Quantum-Inspired Computing

Aviation Meets Quantum-Inspired Optimization

As global air traffic intensifies and fuel efficiency becomes more critical, airlines face increasingly complex routing, crew scheduling, and cargo handling challenges. In March 2018, Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline by revenue, began exploring how quantum-inspired computing could improve logistics decision-making at scale.

This was not yet full quantum computing—given the limited number of qubits available in physical systems at the time—but a class of quantum-inspired algorithms modeled after the logic of quantum annealers. These algorithms, while running on classical hardware, mimic how quantum systems explore multiple states simultaneously to find optimized outcomes.

Lufthansa’s Quantum Hackathon with D-Wave and Volkswagen

In collaboration with D-Wave Systems and Volkswagen Data Lab, Lufthansa organized an internal “Quantum Computing Challenge” in Munich during March 2018. The goal: explore how route and ground operations could benefit from quantum approaches to combinatorial optimization.

Engineers and data scientists were challenged to model problems like:

• Airport gate assignments

• Optimal crew and aircraft pairing

• Air freight consolidation efficiency

• Dynamic passenger rebooking scenarios

Using D-Wave’s 2000Q quantum annealer and quantum-inspired solvers, teams tested prototype solutions. While still early-stage, Lufthansa saw promising results in reducing turnaround time variability and fuel burn through optimized aircraft sequencing.

A New Tool for Classic Aviation Problems

The aviation industry has long relied on complex optimization to manage routes, delays, and asset utilization. These problems grow exponentially in complexity as more variables are added—a perfect use case for quantum approaches.

One example tested by Lufthansa involved a flight rebooking system that had to dynamically reassign thousands of passengers in the event of storm-related cancellations. Traditional solvers struggled to find high-quality results in real time under these constraints.

Quantum-inspired solvers, using Ising models to represent variable interactions, found valid solutions faster by evaluating multiple possibilities in parallel. Lufthansa’s early tests showed up to 30% reduction in processing time compared to traditional heuristics.

Freight Load Balancing Enters the Quantum Frame

While Lufthansa’s passenger division led the initial quantum computing pilots, the airline’s cargo arm—Lufthansa Cargo AG—began internal scoping in March 2018 to explore:

• Pallet load optimization based on variable weights and aircraft configurations

• Freight priority sequencing for last-minute cargo additions

• Route optimization for long-haul belly cargo to reduce carbon emissions

Cargo operations often involve combinatorially complex packing and routing decisions that are constrained by timing, weight distribution, and customs requirements. Quantum-inspired optimization offered the potential to drastically reduce computation time for such NP-hard problems.

Quantum-Inspired Computing: Bridging the Gap to Quantum Hardware

Since actual fault-tolerant quantum computers were still in the early research phase in 2018, Lufthansa turned to quantum-inspired approaches as a bridge technology. These methods, while lacking true quantum entanglement or superposition, borrowed key quantum principles to approach global optima in complex scenarios.

The airline's technology team worked with Microsoft’s Quantum Development Kit (QDK) and the open-source Q# language, which simulated quantum logic on classical machines. Lufthansa also began exploring the use of Simulated Bifurcation Algorithms (SBA)—a technique developed by Toshiba that mimics quantum adiabatic evolution.

Partnering with Volkswagen: Mobility Meets Quantum

A major catalyst for Lufthansa’s quantum ambitions came from its partnership with Volkswagen, whose data lab had already begun working with D-Wave since 2017. Volkswagen’s early work in quantum traffic flow optimization for Beijing was an inspiration for Lufthansa to explore similar techniques for air traffic and ground handling.

In March 2018, the two companies shared their results at the CeBIT 2018 trade fair in Hannover, showcasing potential use cases for quantum-inspired optimization across transport verticals, from air to automotive.

Volkswagen engineers shared insights from their collaboration with D-Wave, noting that real-world logistics problems like fleet assignment, delivery routing, and inventory distribution could be substantially accelerated by quantum-inspired solutions.

Academic Collaboration: TU Munich and Fraunhofer Join In

To validate the feasibility of quantum computing for aviation logistics, Lufthansa also sought input from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics. In March 2018, both institutions began contributing modeling expertise and simulations for resource scheduling in high-volume logistics.

TUM researchers focused on:

• Quantum-enhanced linear programming for cargo loading

• Fault-tolerant simulations for edge-case flight disruptions

• Multi-objective optimization balancing cost, emissions, and passenger satisfaction

Fraunhofer, meanwhile, advised Lufthansa on deploying these algorithms in real-time systems without compromising safety-critical standards in aviation.

Quantum and Emissions: A Strategic Sustainability Link

One of the major motivators behind Lufthansa’s quantum exploration was the potential to reduce fuel consumption and emissions through better optimization. Flight routing, especially over transatlantic and long-haul segments, has considerable room for fuel-efficiency gains.

Lufthansa estimated that improved routing and scheduling alone could cut CO₂ emissions by 3–5% annually per route group—an outcome well-aligned with the airline’s sustainability targets.

By using quantum-inspired methods to find globally optimal routes, the company aimed to offset rising carbon costs and prepare for stricter EU aviation emissions regulations.

Global Implications for Air Freight and Passenger Travel

While Lufthansa’s 2018 efforts were primarily experimental, they signaled a broader trend: the aviation and logistics industries were beginning to see quantum computing not as a futuristic novelty, but as a pragmatic tool for operational advantage.

Other global carriers began taking note:

• Singapore Airlines initiated exploratory talks with A*STAR to investigate quantum computing in flight network optimization.

• United Airlines expressed interest in quantum use cases for baggage handling and intermodal routing.

• Air France-KLM began studying quantum algorithms for fleet energy efficiency planning.

By March 2018, quantum had moved from theoretical white papers to real pilots in some of the most schedule- and cost-sensitive operations in logistics.

Conclusion: Aviation Prepares for the Quantum Leap

Lufthansa’s quantum-inspired experiments in March 2018 marked a quiet but significant turning point in air logistics. The airline, through partnerships with D-Wave, Microsoft, Volkswagen, and academic institutions, began laying the groundwork for a new era of high-performance optimization.

Although still years away from deploying full quantum systems at scale, Lufthansa’s forward-looking strategy offered a template for other aviation and logistics players: start now, experiment early, and integrate quantum logic into today's operations—even before the hardware catches up.

As air cargo and passenger volumes continue to rise globally, the ability to find better, faster, and cleaner logistics solutions will increasingly rely on the type of thinking quantum computing enables—even if it starts on a classical machine.