How airlines are saving fuel

The drastic increase of fuel prices (which have already reached over $116 a barrel) is exerting more and more pressure on airlines, which are fighting against present costs and worrying price projections. Three years ago fuel became the biggest airline expense at the U.S., leaving labor costs behind. Cost cutting measures are urgently needed and even the smallest initiatives, which may seem irrelevant at first, are highly welcomed.

Airlines all over the world are somewhat anxious for good news from the aerospace industry: lighter, aerodynamically improved airplanes and greener, more fuel-efficient engines. Many of the improvements are possible today through a wider use of composite materials, the addition of non-structural fairings, winglets or upgrade kits for engines, to name a few. These modifications, already rolling out on new airplanes or as upgrades for existing ones, help boost efficiency by directly reducing fuel consumption and weight, reducing drag and increasing lift.

But some of the technology, including brand new airplane designs, is still under investigation, so it will take years until a significant ‘leap’ is provided. Replacements for some of the best-selling commercial airplanes (the next generation of the 737 and A320 families) are not expected before the middle of the next decade… at least. Airlines therefore feel forced to take smaller steps which, altogether, may lead to important short to medium term savings. If every cent more per gallon adds millions to the airlines’ fuel bills (according to the Air Transport Association of America, increasing the fuel gallon by cents adds $195 million to fuel costs annually), than the opposite is also true. Significant amounts of money may be saved by cutting some pennies worth of fuel on each flight. And that’s why airlines are coming up with precious ideas on how to achieve that…

One of the objectives consists of eliminating weight where possible, now. How? For instance, by: serving smaller meals or snacks instead of hot meals; using food ware and packaging made of lighter materials (like plastic or card instead of metal or glass); installing lighter seats; using meal carts weighing some pounds less; removing non-essential utilities, like telephones, wiring, power converters, redundant lighting; trimming the amount of paper onboard, from the passenger cabin (less newspapers and magazines) to the cockpit (where some extra pounds may be saved by installing an Electronic Flight Bag, or EFB, which replaces printed charts and checklists); dissuading passengers from checking more than one bag by charging higher fares (as does EasyJet, for instance); carrying less utility water and managing the amount of fuel on each flight more efficiently; developing and applying lighter coatings to aircraft (as tried a few years ago by Air Canada).

There are also other moves, not weight-related, through which reducing fuel consumption is possible. Those include: adjusting routes to make them more direct, by adopting shorter legs over water instead of longer ones over land, if possible; taxiing with only one engine instead of two; using low reverse thrust levels, after landing; tweaking the aircraft’s flight paths and attitudes (by slightly increasing cruise speed, for example, it is possible to lower the airplane’s nose and, consequently, reduce drag. This only makes sense, though, if fuel savings resulting from drag reduction exceed the consumption increase associated to higher speeds).

Still, one of the most important measures to compensate for fuel cost increases is fuel hedging, through which airlines make advance purchases of a given percentage of their (future) fuel needs at a fixed, predetermined price. This way they’re able to partially protect themselves against price increases. Of course, if prices go down and below the negotiated value (which is far from likely, at the time), airlines may actually come off penalized.

So, next time you fly try to dress lightly. Not only will your body’s skin breathe better, you’ll also be saving the airline a few gallons of fuel.

The world’s 10 scariest runways…

… according to Travel+Leiruse. The magazine has recently published a list of ten of the world’s most ‘challenging’ runways. Scariest for some… but an absolute must for others.

Location of the scariest runways according to Travel+Leisure.

Barra Airport, Barra (Scotland)
Gibraltar Airport (Gibraltar)
John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York (U.S.A.)
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba (Netherlands Antilles)
Madeira Airport, Funchal, Madeira (Portugal)
Matekane Air Strip (Lesotho)
Paro Airport, Paro (Bhutan)
Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten (Netherlands Antilles)
Reagan National Airport, Washington D.C., (U.S.A)
Toncontín Airport, Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

Have you ever landed on one of these locations? Was it an ‘interesting’ experience? Tell us about it!

The Skies are Open…

Today is the first day under the new Open Skies agreement between Europe and the U.S., starting what is considered by many a ‘new era’ in air travel. A Continental Boeing 777 was the first to land at Heathrow under the new arrangement, putting and end to roughly three decades of restrictive rules which allowed only four airlines (British Airways, Virgin Atlantinc, United Airlines and American Airlines) to operate between that airport and the U.S..

This aggreement means that, during an initial phase:

1) U.S.-based carriers will be able to fly to any location in the E.U. and to connect European city pairs (therefore exercising the Fifth Freedom right; more about the Freedoms of the Air);
2) E.U.-based carriers will be able to fly from any European city to any location in the U.S. (e.g.: Air France-KLM is starting flights from the U.K. to Los Angeles; British Airways will connect New York to Brussels and Paris).

At a later phase, and depending on the success of further negotations, European companies should be able not only to fly inside the U.S. but also to own and control U.S.-based airlines.

What about the advantages of such a deal?

For passengers: more options. This doesn’t necessarily mean lower fares in the near or medium term, mainly due to the high oil and airport slot prices. Airlines do pay considerable amounts of money in order to secure airport slots, especially at the most important hubs. For instance, Continental payed $200 million for four slots (two different routes) at Heathrow, being now able to connect it to both New York and Houston.

For airlines: the fact that they are no longer denied access to important destinations such as London and other world’s leading economic centres.

Open Skies is a British Airways subsidiary which will fly between Europe and the U.S.. Image: British Airways.

A380 delivery to Singapore Airlines: a different perspective

A 360º panoramic view of Singapore Airlines’ first A380 delivery cerimony can be found on Gilles Vidal’s website. Check it out here.

Delivery of Singapore’s first A380 at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse, France. Image: Airbus.