High fuel prices are causing heartburn in aviation circles. Therefore, here are some of the ways airlines are and can employ to tame high fuel costs:
1) Fly higher, you burn less fuel. Particularly, at congested airports, avoid holding at lower altitudes. That is also the reason why planes have winglets on them. Winglets reduce drag and help the plane climb up, saving fuel up to 3 percent to 4 percent per flight.
2) Avoid level flying with gear down and full flaps. Doing so could actually reduce fuel consumption by 300 Kg per engine. Not doing so increases the charge, using up more fuel.
3) Cruise while descending.
4) Use light leather for seats instead of heavy cloth.
5) Switch off the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) – which is used for the lights and the AC - when on the ground and use the Ground Power Unit (GPU). An APU consumes 200 liters of fuel an hour. Whereas, a GPU, as it runs on diesel, saves money.
6) Reduce magazines and newspapers, flush lavatories during delays, change cutlery to plastic.Start APU just before engine shutdown.
7) Wash the plane more often; dust and moisture slow it down.
8) Stop taking excess fuel unless required. Modern jets burn 3 percent to 4 percent of the weight of additional fuel carried per hour of flight.
9) Decrease loading of water on the plane.
10) Encourage single-engine taxi after landing.
11) Use proprietary flight planning software that suggests the flight path, so that the plane can be aligned with the wind, thereby reducing friction.
12) Go in for more fuel-efficient planes that are aerodynamically well designed, like the A-380 and the Dreamliner.
13) Hedge in fuel. For example, Southwest Airlines has stolen a march over its competitors by hedging fuel till 2012 at USD 51 a barrel. According to the International Herald Tribune, “The hedges have helped Southwest Airlines profitable, producing gains of $455 million in 2004, $892 million in 2005, $675 million in 2006 and $439 million for the first nine months of 2007, as oil prices nearly doubled.”
No comments:
Post a Comment