Qantas and Jetstar planes are flying more slowly to save fuel in a desperate attempt to reduce the soaring jet fuel costs threatening airline profits.
Virgin Blue is also considering slowing down its planes during descent as a way of cutting fuel use. Jetstar has been flying more slowly since last month, adding six minutes to the length of flights from the east coast to Perth and two minutes to flights from Sydney to either Brisbane orMelbourne.
A spokesman for Qantas, which owns Jetstar, last night confirmed that its own planes had also been using “variable speed” as a “fuel conservation initiative” and said the airline had been doing this for the past two years.
The unannounced moves, which follow similar actions by US airlines, are expected to save the carriers millions of dollars and reduce upward pressure on airfares.
The revelation comes as the oil price reached a record $US133 a barrel yesterday, placing further pressure on airline fuel costs and profits.
The spike in oil has also driven petrol prices past $1.60 a litre this week, with forecasts of $1.70 next month, fuelling the political debate over the Coalition’s promise to cut the petrol excise by 5c a litre. Economists, however, believe crude could soon fall back to $US100, taking pressure off petrol and aviation fuel prices.
The rising cost of jet fuel has once again prompted Qantas to increase the price of its airfares.
Qantas said yesterday its international airfares would rise by about 4 per cent and domestic fares by about 3 per cent for tickets issued in Australia from June4. The increases follow hikes of about 3 per cent for international fares and 3.5 per cent for domestic fares earlier this month.
And in the US, cost pressures have become so extreme that American Airlines will now charge $US15 for checked baggage to help offset rising fuel prices.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway yesterday confirmed to The Australian that a trial scheme to fly more slowly had been under way since last month as a means of combating record fuel prices, which have soared by 68 per cent in the past 12 months.
“The challenge for airlines is that fuel costs are at record levels,” he said. “We have been conducting a trial where aircraft flights are taking a bit longer and burning less fuel. Early indications are that we are seeing positive savings in terms of fuel.”
The move has involved Jetstar pilots reducing the average cruise speed of Airbus A320s from 863km/h to 843km/h.
These new speeds apply to all domestic Jetstar flights as well as Jetstar flights to New Zealand and may soon be extended to long-haul international flights.
Virgin Blue spokeswoman Heather Jeffrey said the company was actively exploring ways to reduce fuel use and had recently fitted winglets to all aircraft to reduce aerodynamic drag and therefore fuel use. Virgin had not slowed down its cruising speeds but was examining slowing down its speed of descent to save fuel.
A Qantas spokesman said the airline had saved fuel by using “variable speeds”, which he said meant a marginal slowdown in speed.
“The speed of aircraft is now varied on a flight-by-flight and port-by-port basis and accounting for daily flying conditions,” he said. “This practice has led to fuelsavings and lower carbon emissions without any significant impact on flight times.”
Mr Westaway said Jetstar would examine the results of the trial in July before deciding whether to make slow-fly policy permanent.
He said other offsetting factors needed to be considered such as what impact it would have on the airline’s schedules and on its on-time performance.
So far, Jetstar has not altered its flight schedules to allow for the extra flight time.
Although flying slower at cruise altitude saves fuel, it also creates extra maintenance costs because the airline is in the air for longer. Jetstar is looking at other fuel-saving measures, including trying to keep its planes plugged into ground-based power and air-conditioning for as long as possible.
Qantas and Virgin Blue have announced fare increases because of soaring fuel prices, with Virgin chief Brett Godfrey warning that some airlines would not survive.
Mr Godfrey said when Virgin began its Australian operations, fuel comprised only 15 per cent of the company’s costs but now comprised 35 per cent.
Mr Westacott said fuel represented 17 per cent of Jetstar’s costs when the airline was launched in 2004, but now represented one third of all costs and this was likely to rise to 40per cent in the coming financial year.
“Jetstar is forecasting fuel to cost around $490 million for the 2007-08 financial year,” he said.
The budget airline JetBlue, one of several US carriers which are now flying more slowly to save fuel, estimates that adding two minutes to each flight saves about $US13.6 million a year in jet fuel.
There is speculation high fuel prices will lead US airlines to ask passengers to pay for carry on luggage and see the scrapping of frequent flyer programs.
Source: The Australian
By: steve rowell - 8th June 2008 at 06:38
Air New Zealand has increased fares and scaled back routes due to the continued high cost of fuel and changes in demand.
The price of domestic airfares will rise by an average 4 per cent, as will international airfares sold in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Domestic and short-haul international price rises are effective from June 16, with long-haul rises expected from June 20. Among the changes, capacity on the Tasman route will be cut during lower demand months.
Between August and November, services from Hamilton to Sydney will be cut from three to two a week, and between September and November services from Dunedin to Sydney will be scaled back from three to two a week.
Services on both Tasman routes will return to three a week from late November. Services between Wellington and Sydney during August will be cut from a total of 44 to 36.
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May 28, 2008 at 5:05 am