Holiday Lettings news - Airlines economising to reduce the weight of their planes

Airlines economising to reduce the weight of their planes

Airlines are adopting novel measures in order to reduce the weight of their planes. Lighter seats, smaller cutlery and lighter meals are just some of the ways carriers are trying to cut their fuel costs.

An increasing number of airlines are coming up with innovative ways of coping with rising fuel prices, reports The Times. British Airways (BA), which spends more than £8m per day on fuel, is one such economising airline.

"We have already reduced the amount of potable water we have in our on-board tanks and we have replaced our catering trolleys with lightweight versions," a BA spokesman said.

"We are reviewing our catering and looking at how much it weighs and looking at how much meals weigh. We are also looking to remove kitchen equipment that is not absolutely essential. And we are moving on-board paperwork to an electronic version. At some point our in-flight magazines could be electronic."

Meanwhile, All Nippon Airways (ANA) now uses lighter porcelain for meals, sugar sachets are only given out on request and its new seat frames are made from carbon fibre, which is lighter than aluminium and will cut a typical aircraft's fuel usage by 40,000 litres per year.

Japan Airways uses thinner cutlery and is reducing the number of newspapers and magazines on international flights as well as suspending the sale of beer on domestic flights and carrying fewer earplug sets and paper cups.

BA is expected to pay more than £3bn in fuel costs this year and on a typical long-haul flight, catering equipment and food weigh six tonnes.

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