Aviation fuel going Crazy ?

May 21, 2008

In the face of
skyrocketing fuel prices, airlines
are doing what motorists have known
for long – that slowing down on the
road means saving on fuel.

16 May, 2008:
More and more airlines
worldwide are adding a few minutes
to flights to save millions in
jet-fuel costs.

Here's
what Air Canada does.

Reducing
cruising speed when flights are
ahead of schedule.
Reducing speed
when an aircraft has prevailing
winds.
Taxiing on the
ground with only one engine.
Taking more
weight off planes with the use of
lighter trolleys and cargo
containers.
Optimising the uses of water on
board. Instead of flying with a full
tank, the airline refills at a
connecting destination.
Making sure
external surfaces are cleaned to
cut down on drag.

Air Canada, Canada’s largest
airline and flag carrier, claims to
be among
the leaders in this area of saving
on jet fuel.

Fuel-saving measures
of WestJet Airlines

WestJet equips its planes with
blended winglets, which are bent-up
tips at the end of the wings to
provide more lift to the aircraft on
takeoff.
The carrier
uses an onboard GPS system to
allow planes to come in for more
direct landings via satellite,
cutting travel time and fuel
expenses.

Canada’s WestJet Airlines has been
trying to cut fuel costs by using
computer technology to calculate
optimum speeds so that slowing down
does not extend the work shift and
add to staffing costs.

Isabelle Arthur, a spokeswoman of
Air Canada, said that the
carrier had taken a series of steps
to save on fuel costs more than a
year ago which are a joint effort of
all Air Canada’s operational
branches, including input from
flight operations, in-flight
operations and the maintenance
group.

However, customers cannot expect
these savings to be passed on in the
form of lower fares, Air Canada’s
spokeswoman added.

Southwest
Airlines, USA

Southwest Airlines, the low-cost
airline based in Dallas, Texas, the
United States, started flying slower
two months ago. It expects to save
US $42 million in fuel in 2008 by
extending each flight by 1 to 3
minutes.

Northwest
Airlines, USA

The Northwest Airlines, of the
United States, saved 162 US gallons
(613 litres) of aviation fuel worth
$535 on its flight from Paris to
Minneapolis recently. By flying
slower, Northwest Airlines added 8
minutes to the flight, extending it
to 8 hours, 58 minutes – that is,
flying at an average speed of 532
miles per hour, down from the usual
542 miles per hour.

JetBlue

Added 4 minutes
to its flights

JetBlue, a low-cost airline owned by
JetBlue Airways Corporation of the
United States, adds an average of 2
minutes to each flight, and saves
about $13.6 million a year in jet
fuel. Adding just 4 minutes to its
flights to and from Hawaii saves
Northwest Airlines $600,000 a year
on those flights alone, according to
a spokesman of JetBlue.

United Airlines

Flight planning
software for optimum routes and
speeds

United Airlines, a major airline of
the United States and a subsidiary
of UAL Corporation, has invested in
flight-planning software that helps
pilots choose the best routes and
speeds. The airline estimates that
the software will save it $20
million a year.

While slowing down flights can help
airlines conserve fuel, it can also
lead to greater labour and
maintenance costs if airline
employees work longer hours and
planes spend more time in service,
an independent airline consultant
based in Port Washington, New York,
was quoted by Star newspaper.

He added: “The slowing down to
conserve fuel can only be pushed so
far: below a certain speed,
depending on the model, an
aircraft's fuel usage can actually
rise.

Not every airline is taking the
slowdown approach.”

The “slowing down” of aircraft has
received support form many consumer
outfits in the United States.
According to Travis Plunkett,
legislative director at the Consumer
Federation of America, “the extra
minutes shouldn’t matter. If it
means that airlines can keep their
costs down, keep their ticket prices
down, and save a little fuel, that’s
fine.”

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