The combination brings together two highly complementary businesses to create a stronger global platform serving airlines, airports, aircraft lessors, financial institutions, underwriters and corporate travel managers.
Joining RDC Aviation brings PACE, the market leading carbon emissions analytics modelling business originally founded by Fexco, into a global aviation data business with an established base of airline, airport and lessor customers, and provides access to RDC’s LOOP platform, which distributes verified, operator-supplied fleet and environmental data across over 230 airlines and 11,000 aircraft. Combining PACE’s emissions modelling with LOOP’s verified data pipeline is expected to expand PACE’s reporting for existing and future customers.
The businesses see significant opportunities to develop new products, expand into new international markets and bring their respective capabilities to a broader customer base. This includes emerging areas such as sustainability-linked airport charging, where commercial and environmental data are increasingly coming together to inform how airports and airlines operate.
PACE’s existing team will join RDC Aviation and remain based at the RDI Hub in Killorglin, Co. Kerry. The enlarged business intends to continue investing in product development, commercial capability and international market growth, with the potential to expand its presence and employment in Kerry as the business develops.
RDC Aviation has spent more than 25 years building specialist datasets covering airport charges, airline profitability, route economics, aircraft fuel burn, CO2 emissions and airline schedules. Its services are used by hundreds of aviation businesses across six continents, including British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2, together with more than 130 airports.
PACE, which stands for Platform for Analysing Carbon Emissions, was established by Fexco as an independent carbon and ESG intelligence platform for the aviation sector. It supports aircraft lessors, banks, airports and other financial institutions in measuring aviation emissions and responding to evolving reporting requirements.
PACE is a qualified provider under the Pegasus Guidelines and its technology powers the aviation component of JPMorgan Chase’s Carbon Compass methodology.
Peter Hind, Chief Executive Officer, RDC Aviation, said:
“The addition of PACE materially expands what RDC can offer its customers. Airlines, airports, lessors and financial institutions increasingly need commercial and sustainability information to be considered together, rather than through separate systems and datasets.
“Combining our data, technology, customer relationships and specialist expertise creates significant opportunities for innovation. These include new products at the intersection of airport charging, carbon performance and aviation finance, as well as further expansion into markets including North America and Asia.
“PACE has built an exceptional platform with strong customers, specialist expertise and real credibility. Bringing our businesses together gives us a differentiated proposition that will be difficult to replicate.”
Scott Fairlie, Co-Founder, Northcote Equity, added:
“We partnered with Pete and the RDC team because we knew we were backing a global, category leader in aviation data and intelligence. By bringing PACE into the RDC platform, we are strengthening our competitive advantage through the unique sustainability intelligence capabilities, enhancing our existing RDC products. We are particularly excited about the combined capabilities that PACE will bring to LOOP, our fleet data sharing platform.”