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How to implement
fuel savings linked to EFB
With so many factors to consider, technology makes fuel efficiency decisions so much better, writes
Capt. Joachim Scheiderer, Manager Flight Operations Engineering, Lufthansa CityLine
passenger seats. The word regional does not so much refer to the geographic
operation radius, but rather to the size of the aircraft fuselage.
The savings potentials, available with a change from fixed speeds to variable
cost index based speeds are enormous. Fuel experts at IATA describe the savings
potential in their IATA Fuel Action Plan, Guidance material and best practices
for fuel and environmental management as follows: CI optimization of planned
speeds will yield savings from 2 to 3 per cent and in some cases, as much as
10% when a flight is restricted to a low altitude or in unusually strong winds.
The following calculation outlines the size of the savings potential:
Fuel consumption of the Canadair and Embraer fleet of Lufthansa CityLine
amounted to 195,000 tons of kerosene in 2010. A supposed fuel saving of 3%
leads to reduction in use of more than 5,800 tons of Kerosene. Furthermore a
supposed fuel price of euro/ton 744 would lead to a savings potential of more
than 4.3 million euro and reduced emission of 18,400 tons of CO2.
Pacelab CI OPS
In order to use the cost index effectively for the fleet of Lufthansa CityLine, a
cost index operations optimization software was developed by PACE, a Berlin
based company for aerospace engineering and information technology.
Supporting the strategic flight planning process and on-board tactical economic
decisions, Pacelab CI OPS significantly reduces fuel consumption and the
emission of CO2 and other pollutants. Compared to constant Mach speeds, CI
operations reduce fuel burn and harmful emissions by at least 2%, and even up
Application of CI Operations
Cost index operation is based on a two-stage optimization approach:
strategic planning, made in advance of the flight and tactical planning, for inflight corrections to the flight plan.
Tactical Planning
Strategic Planning
Provision of CI performance
data for climb, cruise and
descent for improved OFPs
Electronic
Flight Bag
Paper
Booklet
Strategic planning in the context of cost index operations means the calculation
and creation of the OFP. This forms the basis for the planned flight and further
tactical optimizations. Tactical planning follows strategic planning. It allows
for continuous checking and optimization during flight. The crew is then in a
position of being able to react to any unpredicted changes during the flight. The
tool for tactical planning is the Pacelab CI OPS software.
The following example indicates the necessity of tactical planning. The crew
receives and OFP from A to B which contains a taxi-out time of 10 minutes and
a taxi-in time of six minutes with a block time of 100 minutes.
According to the previously optimized OFP, the flight time is 84 minutes. Due to
a high traffic density in A the 10 minute taxi time becomes 18 minutes before lineup. The time window for the flight is therefore reduced by eight minutes only 76
minutes are available. How can the trajectories be changed in order to achieve an
optimum ratio between flight time and fuel burn, i.e. cost? The main options are
changing the climb speed, the (optimum) flight level or the cruise speed
The figure above shows that a high indicated airspeed in the climb segment
(i.e. higher cost index) leads to a gentler climb angle. The cruise altitude is
therefore reached later. This situation is reversed for a low cost index (CI=0) or
a low speed. The extra power of the engines results in a high climb angle, so
that the cruise altitude is reached earlier. Both cases have implications for the
subsequent cruise segment and the overall flight time.
In the case of the descent segment, a higher cost index (higher flight speed)
leads to a steeper angle of descent, whereas a lower cost index (slower flight
speed) allows for a gentler angle of descent. Like the climb segment, there are
implications to the cruise segment. A steep and short descent results in a longer
cruise segment at the optimum altitude.
It is important to note that for each parameter set comprised of take-off weight
(TOW), CI, distance and wind there is a particular combination of optimum
altitude and optimum speed triple, where speed triple denotes a particular
combination of climb, cruise and descent speed values. The figure below shows
such a speed triple for an example parameter set with an altitude restriction (Alt
Cap) on FL340 as a point in three-dimensional space.
Each time the parameters are changed, the position of the point changes in
this space, making rule of thumb estimates impossible.
reasons for this might be a stronger wind component or a short cut by ATC
that was not known or included during the planning phase. For example: a
crew receives several short cuts from ATC during the flight, shortening the total
flight time by six minutes. This additional time could be used to reduce speed, if
the arrival delay is not a factor. By using Pacelab CI OPS, the pilot can quickly
check, if applying a new speed is beneficial or not. The software would come up
with a recalculated speed suggestion, taking the new parameters in account.
Joachim Scheiderer started his flying career in 1995 at the Lufthansa Pilots
School in Bremen and Tucson/Arizona. He started flying as a
First Officer in 1997 and since 2001 has served as a Captain
for Lufthansa CityLine, flying the Bombardier Canadair Jet 200,
700 and 900 fleet.
From 1999 he was appointed to the Flight Operations
Management Team at Lufthansa CityLine, responsible for the area Flight
Operations Engineering. The main focus encompasses Aircraft Performance,
Flight Planning and Weight and Balance issues. Additionally, Joachim
was appointed to the environmental coordinator for the flight operations
sector. Within the scope of this task, Capt. Scheiderer has been responsible
for the planning and coordination of the airlines fuel saving measures.
He successfully developed and implemented the cost index operation
concept within Lufthansa CityLine, making it possible to create fully total
cost optimized trajectories for regional aircraft. Today he is focusing on
improving operational efficiency by the ntroduction of adequate key
performance indicators.
Joachim Scheiderer holds a German university master degree in Industrial
Engineering with a course specialization in Traffic System Engineering and
Corporate Management. In 2008 his first book Angewandte Flugleistung
(Applied Aircraft Performance) was published at the renowned Springer
Verlag. The second one came out in 2010, named Human Factors im
Cockpit (Human Factors in the cockpit).
Joachim Scheiderer teaches Airline Management as a lecturer at the
Karlshochschule International University in Karlsruhe with a focus on
operational issues.
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