Economic Aspects of Flight in Turbulence

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF FLIGHT IN TURBULENCE - This paper presents an initial attempt to estimate the economic effects of turbulence on airline operations from the standpoint of costs of temporary grounding for inspections and repairs, cost of training crews to cope with turbulence, the cost of disseminating information on turbulence, the cost of injuries sustained by passengers. The data was obtained from several airlines covering a wide geographic area. The costs were difficult to ascertain because the accounting systems do not readily separate the cost elements from several associated costs of operation. The information was extrapolated for all the major airlines to arrive at an estimate that turbulence costs about $6.00 per flight.