As fuel price flies, airlines add winglets, efficiencies

Bangalore: As the aviation industry waits for the benefits of consolidation to land, rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices promises to play the spoilsport.
On Wednesday, oil marketing companies hiked the domestic jet fuel prices by 3.3%.
Last month too, ATF prices had seen a jump — of 2.86%, which prompted airlines to revise upwards their fuel surcharge by Rs 50.
ATF is the costliest component of an airline’s operations.Recognising the threat from climbing fuel prices, airlines are to protecting themselves from its impact. One of the strategies to counter the adverse effects of rising prices is cutting ATF consumption.
Budget carrier SpiceJet, for instance, has been able to reduce its fuel consumption by inducting new generation fuel-efficient aircraft with winglets.
This has helped it bring down its fuel usage from 2375 kilolitres per “block hour” to 2250 kilolitres in the last one year.
A “block hour” is the total journey time taken for a flight, including pushback, taxiing, etc.
SpiceJet has followed Jet Airways in adding winglets or small wings attached to the end of the aircraft wings.
A winglet kit costs $500,000 or Rs 20 lakh, and it saves 1-2% on fuel cost.
02/08/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: General Aviation Aug 2007