Let Us Help You Find Hidden
Fuel Efficiencies
The price of fuel has impacted the entire transportation industry. And no one feels the effects more than airlines, for which fuel now represents the largest single expense. It impacts every facet of airline operations today and has everyone searching for ways to conserve. Although fuel price itself is uncontrollable, you can minimize the negative impact it has on your airline’s bottom line by taking advantage of several operational efficiencies.
Learn how you can:
Optimized flight planning, tankering and other methods can help your airline achieve 2 percent to 3 percent in fuel consumption savings.
And you can find untapped savings in flight planning, load planning, fleet deployment and more. With the proper tools in place, you can uncover unexpected savings related to reduced fuel consumption — significant savings that go directly into your "pocket."
Even though the price of fuel may be largely out of your hands, the savings from operating a more efficient airline don’t have to be. You can greatly improve your airline’s margins by implementing one or a combination of solutions such as:
Optimize aircraft weight
In general, the greatest amount of weight that can be reduced on an aircraft is the weight of fuel. As a rule of thumb, every extra pound of fuel weight burns approximately 3 percent extra fuel per hour. So it’s vital that your flight planning system calculates the optimum, safe level of minimum fuel to reduce the amount of fuel onboard and reduce in-flight fuel burn.
Because the price of fuel varies for airport to airport, there are times when carrying extra fuel weight can be a more cost-effective course of action. In this case, the flight planning system analyzes fuel costs at each airport along the flight and then calculates the costs of tankering additional fuel from one airport to another versus the costs of buying fuel at the destination airport. In many instances, the cost of carrying additional fuel can be lower than the price of purchasing fuel at the destination airport.
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Deliver a flexible flight plan
For additional optimization ability, an automated flight planning process can have a dynamic economic impact by optimizing route, altitude, speed, payload and fuel. Utilizing new flight planning techniques working in concert with new navigational technology, today’s automated flight planning system skillfully employs 4D cost index-based flight planning. Used in conjunction with the onboard flight-management computer, this method optimally calculates flying speed based on winds and aircraft weight, resulting in a more flexible, fuel-efficient flight plan.
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Deploy the best-choice aircraft and ensure its availability
Having the correct types of aircraft available to fly your schedules is the next step in lowering fuel-related costs. Fleet planning tools can help optimize the deployment of the most efficient aircraft for each route your airline flies, while a robust maintenance, repair and overhaul application can help you optimize your operations and control expenses.
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Achieve ideal trim
Even the most capable aircraft’s efficiency can be improved with effective load planning tools. By shifting an aircraft’s center of gravity to the aft limit, a load planner can achieve ideal trim. Once this ideal-trim position is determined and the cargo is loaded as planned, the aircraft’s lift capability is increased and its drag reduced. The result: another incremental improvement in the efficiency of an airline’s operations that leads to fuel savings.
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Minimize flight and gating-related delays
Cost savings can also occur by improving the efficiency of your ground operations. Delays that result from inclement weather, mechanical failures or late arrivals increase fuel usage. Using an automated flight display and movement control system helps optimize operational efficiency and increase aircraft utilization by enabling you to swap aircraft when disruptions would otherwise cause delayed flights. With complete and reliable information about current operations and maintenance events, you can evaluate problems and determine cost-effective solutions to lower fuel-related costs.
Additionally, efficient gate planning and gate management tools can help ensure that taxiing times and gating delays are kept to a minimum. The outcome is reduced fuel burn and less wait time — a result that will help keep your customers happy and your bottom line positive.
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Learn more about this timely topic when you download our free  with information on how your airline can find hidden fuel efficiencies.
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