Comments on: Air New Zealand’s New Fuel-Saving Efforts http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/2008/09/24/air-new-zealands-new-fuel-saving-efforts/ Dan Webb on Aviation Thu, 10 May 2012 05:25:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Kiwi Flyer http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/2008/09/24/air-new-zealands-new-fuel-saving-efforts/comment-page-1/#comment-194 Kiwi Flyer Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:12:14 +0000 http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/?p=144#comment-194 Qantas and Air New Zealand have been doing the continuous descent approaches on early morning longhaul arrivals into Auckland for quite some time. These flights are given priority over other flights (not that there is many shorthaul arrivals at that hour of day). Qantas and Air New Zealand have been doing the continuous descent approaches on early morning longhaul arrivals into Auckland for quite some time. These flights are given priority over other flights (not that there is many shorthaul arrivals at that hour of day).

]]> By: Dan Webb http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/2008/09/24/air-new-zealands-new-fuel-saving-efforts/comment-page-1/#comment-191 Dan Webb Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:19:36 +0000 http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/?p=144#comment-191 Wow, Court, thanks very much for sharing your insight in such detail. Always nice to get a pilot's perspective on things like this! Wow, Court, thanks very much for sharing your insight in such detail. Always nice to get a pilot’s perspective on things like this!

]]> By: Court http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/2008/09/24/air-new-zealands-new-fuel-saving-efforts/comment-page-1/#comment-190 Court Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:28:48 +0000 http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thingsinthesky/?p=144#comment-190 The fuel savings in the descent is something that's been around for quite some time. At the airline I flew for, we called it PPAS which involved steeper and later descent profiles and slower cruise speeds to reduce fuel burn. The slower cruise speeds led us to affectionately refer to the acronym as the Pilot Pay Augmentation System (To be honest, I've forgotten what it actually stood for). Essentially, the driving philosophy behind the updated descent profiles is that since the aircraft burn less fuel at higher altitudes, keep it at the higher altitude longer. The ultimate goal is to keep cruise altitude until the latest possible moment where engines can be reduced to and kept at idle until final approach. Of course ATC and any number of factors affect this on an operational level, but the fuel savings are significant across a carrier's network. The fuel savings in the descent is something that’s been around for quite some time. At the airline I flew for, we called it PPAS which involved steeper and later descent profiles and slower cruise speeds to reduce fuel burn. The slower cruise speeds led us to affectionately refer to the acronym as the Pilot Pay Augmentation System (To be honest, I’ve forgotten what it actually stood for).

Essentially, the driving philosophy behind the updated descent profiles is that since the aircraft burn less fuel at higher altitudes, keep it at the higher altitude longer. The ultimate goal is to keep cruise altitude until the latest possible moment where engines can be reduced to and kept at idle until final approach. Of course ATC and any number of factors affect this on an operational level, but the fuel savings are significant across a carrier’s network.

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