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Conservation Efforts Save Alaska $52 Million
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Airline cuts fuel use 16 million gallons a year through variety of air and ground initiatives
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1/5/2009 4:33 p.m.
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Redoubling efforts to cut costs and lower its carbon footprint, Alaska Airlines carried out a wide range of fuel conservation initiatives in 2008—from transitioning to an all-737 fleet to retrofitting some of its jets with blended winglets to reducing the amount of potable water carried onboard.
Altogether, these initiatives saved the airline 16 million gallons of fuel and reduced expenses by $51.7 million. The amount of fuel conserved in 2008 also lessened Alaska's carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 150,000 metric tons. That's the equivalent of taking 27,500 cars off the road or heating nearly 20,000 houses for a year.
"Alaska Airlines has a long tradition of innovation in many areas, and fuel conservation is no exception," says Gary Beck, vice president of flight operations. "By continually strengthening our conservation efforts, our aim is to maintain competitive fares for our customers while minimizing our impact on the environment."
While fuel conservation has always been an important goal for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, it became a top priority in 2008. As the price of jet fuel has escalated, Alaska Airlines' economic fuel expense (which includes the benefit of hedging) has climbed from 23 percent of its total budget to 36 percent in just three years, becoming the carrier's largest cost.
As a member of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), Alaska Airlines has committed to improving fuel efficiency by at least 30 percent between 2005 and 2025. It also supports developing alternative, environmentally friendly fuels, and is working to make technological, operational and infrastructure improvements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Jet fuel is a huge expense for the entire airline industry, and contributes 2 to 3 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions," Beck says. "Everything we can do to conserve adds up to cost savings and a better future for our environment."
Projects completed in 2008
To ensure it examines all potential fuel savings, Alaska Airlines has been encouraging employees to offer suggestions. During the past few years, the company has received and evaluated numerous recommendations for flying more efficiently, reducing fuel use on the ground and lowering the weight of its planes.
"While a lot of these efforts were started in previous years, this year we've sharpened our focus," Fuel Conservation Manager Mignon Hoover says. "Employees throughout the company are offering suggestions on how to conserve and are adjusting the way they operate. There's nothing we can do without everyone helping out. It's really a companywide effort."
Among the initiatives the airline implemented in 2008 include:
Completing the transition to an all-737 fleet. Alaska Airlines retired its last MD-80 in August. As a result of its fuselage, wing and engine design, the 737 has improved fuel conservation by several hundred gallons per flight hour. 2008 fuel savings: 11.8 million gallons
Installing blended winglets on its 737-900s. Alaska finished installing blended winglets on all jets that meet the structural requirements. The airline had already retrofitted its 737-700s with winglets and its 737-800s come equipped with them from the factory. Winglets reduce fuel consumption by about 3 percent. 2008 fuel savings: 840,000 gallons
Using less jet fuel for electricity and air conditioning. Alaska Airlines now uses ground power instead of jet fuel to vent, cool and heat aircraft parked at airport gates. By the end of the year, the airline was using ground power units instead of aircraft auxiliary power units (APUs) at 14 airports. Ground equipment supplies electricity and air conditioning much more efficiently than the APU, which burns 37 gallons of fuel an hour when fully loaded. 2008 fuel savings: 740,000 gallons
Reducing fuel burn with faster repairs. Commercial aircraft can typically be operated for up to 10 days when certain non-vital equipment isn't working. However, they often must be flown at lower altitudes or with other restrictions, reducing their fuel efficiency. Alaska cut fuel consumption this year by reducing the average time it takes to repair equipment that adversely affects performance from 2½ days to slightly less than one day. 2008 fuel savings: 158,000 gallons
Flying at more economical speeds. Cost-index flying uses onboard computer systems to calculate the cost effects of flying slow versus fast to obtain the most economical speed. Alaska Airlines used cost-index flying to further lower its overall cruise speeds, reducing average fuel consumption by 10 to 40 gallons per trip. 2008 fuel savings: 380,000 gallons
Reducing potable water. Alaska Airlines has reduced the amount of potable water it carries on most of its Next-Generation 737s by 10 to 20 gallons a flight after surveys found customers weren't using all of it. 2008 fuel savings: 80,000 gallons.
Removing insulation on 737-400s. Maintenance & Engineering has begun removing bilge insulation blankets located in the aft cargo pits of its 737-400s. Removing these blankets has eliminated the weight from extra material, which often became heavier over time through water absorption. 2008 fuel savings: 5,000 gallons
Initiatives planned for 2009
The fuel saving initiatives completed this year are expected to result in greater savings in 2009 once they are in place for the entire year. Alaska Airlines plans to save even more in 2009 by implementing other new projects.
For example, the airline is evaluating several wing modifications to its 737-400s that promise to reduce fuel consumption. It is also planning to implement a new flight planning system that uses wind direction and speed to determine the most efficient flight path.
Maintenance & Engineering is evaluating a new airplane engine wash system that saves fuel. And Flight Operations is laying the groundwork to extend its Required Navigation Performance technology to five more cities. RNP uses satellite-based navigation to enable crews to cut flying mileage by following a precisely defined, computer-plotted path with unprecedented accuracy.
Next spring, Alaska plans to implement a new single-engine taxi procedure that, when used at the top five airports alone, has the potential to save 100,000 gallons of fuel a year. The Customer Service – Airports Division plans to reduce fuel-consuming APU use with more efficient ground equipment in 20 more cities.
And the airline is working with The Boeing Co. to identify what role it will play to support the future evaluation of bio-fuels as a viable alternative for air transportation.
"In many ways, 2008 has been a staging year for future projects," Hoover says. "We've come a long way in how we measure fuel consumption and quantify fuel burn efficiency. This, in turn, will make it easier to evaluate which projects to implement."
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