US pilots told to fly slower to save fuel
03.05.08
Airlines in the US have ordered their pilots to slow down to reduce fuel consumption, according to the Daily Mail. The airlines say the move will add minutes to journey times, but save millions in fuel costs. The tactic will not be adopted by British airlines as British Airways and Virgin said they have already introduced fuel-saving measures which they believe are more efficient than those adopted by the Americans.
The price of jet fuel has risen by more than 70 percent in the past year. US airlines say that reducing speed saves fuel in certain speed ranges, and are introducing slower cruising speeds on both domestic flights and long-haul routes to the UK and Europe.
Northwest Airlines, which is in merger talks with Delta to become the world's biggest airline, said it saved 162 gallons of fuel on a Paris to Minneapolis flight this week when the pilot cut his average speed from 542mph to 532mph. The speed reduction added eight minutes to the flight time but saved the airline nearly £300, the newspaper reports.
Northwest predicts that by slowing down slightly they will save £300,000 this year alone on the route between Los Angeles and Hawaii. Fellow US airline Southwest estimates it will save £21m this year by adding one to three minutes to each flight and budget airline jetBlue said it would save nearly £8m.
However British airlines - along with United from the US - are taking a different approach. They have installed flight-planning software that shows pilots the best altitude and speed to allow optimum use of fuel. United believe that this will save them £10m a year. BA has also ordered its pilots to use only one engine while taxiing around airports. A BA spokesman told the newspaper: 'We don't believe a short-term, knee-jerk response like [slowing down] is the answer.'
Virgin are taking a different approach too. The airline is concentrating on reducing the weight of planes by using light carbon-fibre fittings. A spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘We believe our fuel-saving measures are better than the Americans. We will save many millions of pounds more with our weight watchers programme than the Americans can save by slowing down.' US airlines are struggling with older, less efficient fleets than British companies, he added.
Both BA and Virgin also try to use 'continuous descent' when landing, so planes glide smoothly down. The alternative is to descend in steps, a process which uses a lot of fuel but is sometimes essential at busy airports.
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