US airlines slowing down the pace and saving fuel
US airlines slowing down the pace and saving fuel
Airlines in the US are tackling the spiralling cost of oil and introducing a new fuel-saving tactic that they hope
will save them millions of dollars. The Daily Mail reports on the measure that sees pilots putting on the
brakes.
US carriers are introducing slower cruising speeds, which, although will add minutes to journey times, they are
confident will save them fuel. One of the airlines hoping to implement the measure, Southwest, calculates that it
would save £21 million this year alone if it were to add one to three minutes onto each of its flights. The low-cost
carrier jetBlue said that it would be almost £8 million better off if it were to follow suit. Neither is this all
speculation; Northwest Airlines has already put the technique into practice. Northwest claim that they saved 162
gallons of fuel on a
Paris to Minneapolis flight last week after the pilot cut his average speed from 542 mph to 532
mph. Passengers were onboard for only an extra eight minutes, but the airline calculates it saved nearly
£300.
Nevertheless, not everybody is convinced - British Airways (BA) and Virgin say they will not be following in the
flight-path of their US counterparts. A spokesman for BA summed up the airline's sentiments: "We don't believe a
short-term, knee-jerk response like this is the answer." BA has, however, taken steps to cut down on fuel, including
ordering its pilots to use just one engine while taxiing around airports.
Virgin's Paul Charles furthermore explained why they felt that such money-saving tactics were unnecessary: "We
believe our fuel-saving measures are better than the Americans'. We will save many millions of pounds more with our
weightwatchers programme than the Americans can save by slowing down." Charles went on to say that American carriers
are operating with older, less efficient fleets, which also plays a role. Both BA and Virgin also try to use
"continuous descent" when landing, which ensures that planes glide smoothly down to earth and is more fuel-efficient
than descending in steps, which is, however, sometimes essential at busy airports.
Nonetheless there is nonetheless a flip side to the coin which could render the whole exercise counter-productive.
New York based airline consultant Bob Mann warned that by reducing the speed of the aircraft, airlines could also be
increasing maintenance, which in turn could mean that planes spend less time in the air. As Mann surmises, the
airlines are all "looking for that 'sweet spot' when an airplane flies at the highest speed for maximum fuel
economy."
This story was brought to you by holiday
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6 May 2008
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