We all know that easing up on the gas pedal when you are cruising down the highway equates to savings at the service station, but did you know the same concept can also be applied to airplanes?
A number of major airlines have announced that they will be slowing down to save millions on fuel. Southwest Airlines was the first to go public with their plans to cut down on the average speed their aircrafts fly at certain altitudes. By adding one to three minutes to each flight execs at the discount carrier say they can save $42 million in fuel this year.
Pilots at Northwest Airlines are slowing down as well. Just a few days ago the carrier’s regular flight from Paris to Minneapolis was flown at an average speed of 532 mph, down from the usual 542 mph. According to Northwest flight operation managers, flying slower saved 162 gallons of fuel and $535. However, it did add eight minutes to the flight, extending it to 8 hours, 58 minutes.
The extra time in the air is not that dramatic considering how much money it saves. When JetBlue announced last week that by adding less than two minutes to each flight, it could save about $13.6 million a year in jet fuel, I have to admit I was stunned. And here I wondered why Northwest Airlines was adding five minutes to my flight from Minneapolis to Hawaii. I later learned that by doing so the carrier can save $600,000 a year on that flight alone.
But industry analysts warn that slowing flights down is not a magic bullet. What’s more, not every airline is taking the slowdown approach.
For example, American Airlines execs say they are taking other measures to save fuel, including installing small vertical stabilizers called winglets to the ends of some aircraft wings. Execs with the airline say the winglets boost fuel efficiency by improving aerodynamics. American also keeps its planes plugged in to ground-based power and air conditioning for as long as possible to conserve fuel. And according to airline reps, the company also requests air traffic controllers assign its flights to altitudes where planes will have less headwind or greater tailwind.
Last week American denounced adding time to its flights in order to save on fuel costs saying, “We have the flying schedule to protect.”
So there you have it. If having your flight delayed by a few minutes is something you can’t live with–shop around–not all airlines are slowing down to save money.
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