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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>SIA aircraft 'going on a diet'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Every effort taken to shave off weight and burn less fuel </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) is making its planes shed excess weight.
This is being done a number of ways, from carrying less water and fewer cabin trolleys to using lightweight crockery and thinner paper for in-flight magazines. No cut is too small.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
FLYING LIGHT, FLYING SMART
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The rationale: A lighter aircraft burns less fuel and saves costs. With jet oil trading at US$139.40 per barrel this week - 62.5 per cent higher than a year ago - every kilogram of unnecessary weight is one too many.
Take for example, menu cards.
Ms Betty Wong, the vice-president of in-flight services, explained that, by switching to smaller cards and combining the food and drinks menu into one, SIA has managed to shave 2kg off a Boeing 777-300ER flight.
This may not sound like a big deal but it all adds up, she told The Straits Times recently. 'Every little bit counts... So if there's an extra 1kg or 2kg that can be taken off, I'm saying 'Take it off'.'
She stressed, though, that any modification is made only if service levels are not affected.
Apart from reviewing practices within cabins, SIA has constantly examined its flight operations and engineering practices, spokesman Stephen Forshaw said. So paint is scraped off before an aircraft gets a fresh coat, which takes about 180kg of weight off; jet engines are washed every three months because dirt creates friction, which adds to drag and higher fuel burn.
The need to save fuel is not a new initiative at SIA, but rising oil prices and slowing air traffic growth in the last year or so have made it a top priority.
Apart from losing weight, the airline also looks at making flight operations more efficient, said Mr Forshaw. 'If you can cut 40 to 50 minutes off a long-haul flight, that's big stuff.'
The International Air Transport Association (Iata), the global voice of 230 carriers, has said every minute of flight time cut makes for US$100 (S$141) in savings. So if all aircraft get from point A to point B in the most direct way instead of flying a longer or less efficient route due to air traffic restrictions, the industry could save US$1 billion a year.
Route rationalisation is critical, with carriers expected to lose up to US$6.1 billion this year.
Last year, Iata's efforts led to 395 routes being 'straightened', said its senior vice-president for safety, operations and infrastructure, Mr Guenther Matschnigg. This year, it aims to do this to another 300.
What happens on the ground, as well as during take-off and landing, also matters, said SIA vice-president for flight operations Goh Kah Kheng.
The airline is working with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to cut the distance separating landing aircraft from five to six nautical miles now to four nautical miles, he said. Doing this means planes do not have to circle unnecessarily to put distance between themselves and jets ahead in the queue to land.
To reduce fuel burn, Iata has also visited more than 80 airlines since 2005 - SIA included - to review operating procedures and introduce best practices, Mr Matschnigg said. Audit charges have been waived and more experts roped in so more airlines can gain from this exercise, he added.
Some carriers have dropped routes, cut capacity and jobs and deferred delivery of new planes. For now, SIA is still holding up. Overall, capacity has not dropped, although it has cut the frequency of flights on less-profitable routes.
Levying higher traveller surcharges, which on average cover about half the extra costs from higher fuel prices, also helps.
SIA has increased these surcharges eight times since last year. Passengers on long-haul routes, for example those flying between Singapore and the United States, now pay US$360 for a round trip, up from US$300 before the last increase in June. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Every effort taken to shave off weight and burn less fuel </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) is making its planes shed excess weight.
This is being done a number of ways, from carrying less water and fewer cabin trolleys to using lightweight crockery and thinner paper for in-flight magazines. No cut is too small.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The rationale: A lighter aircraft burns less fuel and saves costs. With jet oil trading at US$139.40 per barrel this week - 62.5 per cent higher than a year ago - every kilogram of unnecessary weight is one too many.
Take for example, menu cards.
Ms Betty Wong, the vice-president of in-flight services, explained that, by switching to smaller cards and combining the food and drinks menu into one, SIA has managed to shave 2kg off a Boeing 777-300ER flight.
This may not sound like a big deal but it all adds up, she told The Straits Times recently. 'Every little bit counts... So if there's an extra 1kg or 2kg that can be taken off, I'm saying 'Take it off'.'
She stressed, though, that any modification is made only if service levels are not affected.
Apart from reviewing practices within cabins, SIA has constantly examined its flight operations and engineering practices, spokesman Stephen Forshaw said. So paint is scraped off before an aircraft gets a fresh coat, which takes about 180kg of weight off; jet engines are washed every three months because dirt creates friction, which adds to drag and higher fuel burn.
The need to save fuel is not a new initiative at SIA, but rising oil prices and slowing air traffic growth in the last year or so have made it a top priority.
Apart from losing weight, the airline also looks at making flight operations more efficient, said Mr Forshaw. 'If you can cut 40 to 50 minutes off a long-haul flight, that's big stuff.'
The International Air Transport Association (Iata), the global voice of 230 carriers, has said every minute of flight time cut makes for US$100 (S$141) in savings. So if all aircraft get from point A to point B in the most direct way instead of flying a longer or less efficient route due to air traffic restrictions, the industry could save US$1 billion a year.
Route rationalisation is critical, with carriers expected to lose up to US$6.1 billion this year.
Last year, Iata's efforts led to 395 routes being 'straightened', said its senior vice-president for safety, operations and infrastructure, Mr Guenther Matschnigg. This year, it aims to do this to another 300.
What happens on the ground, as well as during take-off and landing, also matters, said SIA vice-president for flight operations Goh Kah Kheng.
The airline is working with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to cut the distance separating landing aircraft from five to six nautical miles now to four nautical miles, he said. Doing this means planes do not have to circle unnecessarily to put distance between themselves and jets ahead in the queue to land.
To reduce fuel burn, Iata has also visited more than 80 airlines since 2005 - SIA included - to review operating procedures and introduce best practices, Mr Matschnigg said. Audit charges have been waived and more experts roped in so more airlines can gain from this exercise, he added.
Some carriers have dropped routes, cut capacity and jobs and deferred delivery of new planes. For now, SIA is still holding up. Overall, capacity has not dropped, although it has cut the frequency of flights on less-profitable routes.
Levying higher traveller surcharges, which on average cover about half the extra costs from higher fuel prices, also helps.
SIA has increased these surcharges eight times since last year. Passengers on long-haul routes, for example those flying between Singapore and the United States, now pay US$360 for a round trip, up from US$300 before the last increase in June. [email protected]
