If [the American Airlines-US Airways merger] had not been allowed to proceed, American likely would have aggressively added routes and flights in a bid to grow as big as United and Delta, but any sudden rise in fuel costs may have put American back into the bankruptcy court it is still trying to exit, sources said.
It’s a perilous, cost-heavy industry that in total had lost money since the dawn of aviation until just a few years ago. Even now, US airlines can only tout profit margins of 2% or less.
Fuel buyers had expressed little doubt that the merger would be allowed to proceed, with some divestitures. But they said the industry was already doing all it could to contain fuel costs, from exchanging smaller planes for larger ones to rerouting into more efficient flight patterns.How intense is the weight management / fuel use issue?
Look at this:
Simple weight-control measures like swapping heavy flight books for tablets [for example Apple iPads] are saving millions of dollars. “Those are real deals. It’s pretty significant dollar savings. And it reduces fuel demand,” the fuel buyer said.If switching from heavy flight books to iPads can make that much difference, imagine what it means to Delta to own its own refinery running on Bakken crude selling at $15 discount to the US benchmark.
[Update: see first comment -- there is so much in that first comment, I have brought it up here to the post itself. Comments are not generally "searchable" through search engines. And some readers may not read comments. Here is that first comment:
I fly for the first airline to adopt the iPad.
The cost saving in fuel were not just to eliminate two 35 pound flight bags but also included several other savings.
Compliance with publication currency was an issue during FAA inspections. Now there are just two buttons that need to be selected and a wi-fi connection that will up date company manuals and flight charts.
Previously, updates were done manually and involved adding and deleting a couple thousand pages annually. Additionally, there is the issue worker comp claims, every year several pilots would injure their backs from placing their 35 pound flight bag in the cockpit which involves a bending, twisting and reaching motion. Lastly, there is the additional benefit of remote training. We have eliminated two days of annual ground school that can now be done on the iPad. We still get paid but having remote training has other cost savings to the company.
All of the above savings are part of a “green effort” by the company which reduces paper usage. Besides the paper saving related to manuals each flight generates about 30 to 40 pages of paper, (flight plans, weather, weight and balance, passenger loads) this can now be pushed to the iPad or other tablet device. For compliance each item is given an electronic stamp of what was sent and time received and the document is retained on the sending server.
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For the airlines: tracking every last drop of aviation fuel. (A pdf file). Note the iPad in the presentation. (Don sent me the PDF.)
TabTimes is reporting, April 30, 2013:
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TabTimes is reporting, April 30, 2013:
All 16,000 of American’s crew members worldwide have been given Galaxy Notes. “We’re the first airline to give a tablet to every single crew member,” said O’Keeffe.
The other American “first” goes back to the iPad. American got on the iPad bandwagon early and has since, in partnership with Apple, lobbied the FAA for broader use in flight.More at idownloadblog.com, June 25, 2013:
American Airlines is now using Apple’s iPad in all its flights, the tablet replacing millions of pages and pounds of documents pilots previously had to carry into the cockpit. In a Monday announcement, the airline said switching to the tablet will save the company more than $1 million in fuel costs every year.In addition,
... American Eagle will become the first regional airline to adopt the iPad flight bags starting July 10.
I fly for the first airline to adopt the iPad. The cost saving in fuel were not just to eliminate two 35 pound flight bags but also included several other savings. Compliance with publication currency was an issue during FAA inspections. Now there are just two buttons that need to be selected and a wifi connection that will up date company manuals and flight charts. Previously updates were done manually and involved adding and deleting a couple thousand pages annually. Additional there is the issue worker comp claims, every year several pilots would injure their backs from placing their 35 pound flight bag in the cockpit which involves a bending, twisting and reaching motion. Lastly there is the additional benefit of remote training. We have eliminated two days of annual ground school that can now be done on the iPad. We still get paid but having remote training has other cost savings to the company. All of the above saving are part of a “green effort” by the company which reduces paper usage. Besides the paper saving related to manuals each flight generates about 30 to 40 pages of paper, (flight plans, weather, weight and balance, passenger loads) this can now be pushed to the iPad or other tablet device. For compliance each item is given an electronic stamp of what was sent and time received and the document is retained on the sending server.
ReplyDeleteIncredible post, thank you.
DeleteBy the way, your time is perfect. I just received a PDF/PowerPoint presentation on this very topic. I will post it later; it will add more to what you noted. Much appreciated. I never imagined there was so much involved with the tablet. Incredible, isn't it?