Past and Potential Near Term Fuel Savings in Commercial Aviation Through Modified Operational Strategies

This paper presents a summarization of a detailed study of operational energy conservation strategies applicable to commercial aviation. In all, 47 operational strategies are examined for their potential fuel savings and their implementation status. In addition, the fuel economy improvement of airline operations attributable to the partial implementation of operational strategies is assessed relative to 1973, and potential near term fuel savings are totaled. Results indicate that operational strategies are currently yielding a 5 percent improvement in airline fuel economy, relative to 1973, and that a potential for another 7 to 10 percent improvement exists through the implementation of nine selected strategies.