It seems that all I’ve been talking about this week is oil and winglets. 
A few days ago Flight Global reported that Airbus is planning to test winglets for the A320 again. For those that don’t remember, Airbus attempted two winglet designs a couple of years ago, but they never went past the testing stage. The interesting part is this time around a design by Aviation Partners, the same company that makes winglets for Boeing aircraft, will be tested. If the design is successful, I think the possibility of creating winglets for this aircraft type is a huge oppurtuninty for them. We’ll just have to see how it goes.
And also – a random fact for my fellow Catholics out there. Today is the feast day of St. Joseph Cupertino, patron saint of air travelers and flight crew.
Great! Just in time for the price of oil to come back down.
Before oil went hog-wild, after-market winglets never really made sense because of the high fixed costs to relatively minimal fuel savings. If oil continues it’s downward trend, I predict we’ll see Airbus scrapping the program once again.
The question is, will we start to see them as an option on newly manufactured A320’s? Right now the 737 has a definite “prettiness” advantage over the A320 series because of those winglets. It could tip the tables in the inevitable A vs. B threads at A.net
I’m not sure if the winglet market is done just yet. Southwest started installing them when oil was much cheaper, and the potential increases in range and takeoff performance are also tempting.
In my opinion, cheaper oil will weaken demand for the winglets but not completely, especially on new aircraft that will be in a fleet for awhile. They will pay for themselves over time, it’s a question of how long it will take.