Oiling airline innovation

The airline industry’s single largest expense is fuel cost–oil prices have skyrocketed 84% over the last year, hitting airlines where it hurts the most. Necessity is the mother of invention and airlines are busy inventing new ways to save on fuel.

American Airlines instructed their pilots to taxi around the airport with only one engine turned on, a measure that will save them about $4 million a year. Southwest and JetBlue are flying just a little slower and reaping the rewards–JetBlue adds an average of just under two minutes to each flight, and saves about $13.6 million a year in jet fuel.

American and Southwest are washing some of their jet engines every night instead of only during periodic maintenance overhauls. Southwest claims savings of $1.6 million in fuel costs since April by reducing the drag caused by dirt and debris; American assumes that reducing drag will help them save over $300 million over the entire year.

Airlines are even throwing things off the plane to reduce the weight of the aircraft when it’s in the air–less water is being placed on board, excess food galleys have been removed. Delta has replaced heavy passenger seats with lighter models, while Northwest has made a 25% reduction in the amount of water available in toilets on international flights. Reducing weight is a quick win–according to Northwest, every 25 pounds they reduce saves them $440,000 a year

The remarkable thing about these measures is that they’re all about the little things. They’re not about mammoth changes or year-long projects; they’re about people paying attention to a lot of tiny details that add up to make a big impact.