Delta Jets Lose Weight to Save Fuel

Delta Jets Lose Weight to Save Fuel
Posted: August 25th, 2006 10:29 AM EDT

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If you notice that the wall between first class and coach on some Delta jets gets replaced by a curtain, thank high fuel costs and employee ingenuity.

The airline said Thursday that using curtains or other lighter-weight materials to separate the classes was one of four employee ideas it's using to help battle soaring jet fuel costs.

Delta said it recently asked for workers' ideas on reducing aircraft weight as a means of saving on fuel costs. The four ideas picked:
* Remove some radios needed only for long-distance international routes from 43 Boeing 737-800 jets that fly only domestic routes. The radios weigh about 80 pounds.

"We were only flying one route where we needed those radios [in that model]," said Brian Eppic, the 29-year-old senior engineer who submitted that idea. He got a $50 gas card and lunch with Chief Operating Officer Jim Whitehurst. "I'm even happier that they're going to implement it," Eppic said.

* Replace hard liners between first and coach class with curtains or other lightweight material.
* "Optimize" the amounts of alcohol and glassware stored on some international flights.
* Take out magazine racks.
"Airlines haven't had magazines for a long time," other than their own inflight versions, said Delta Executive Vice President Joe Kolshak. He said such measures, chosen from about 1,000 ideas submitted, will save about $1 million a year.

They are part of a larger effort at the airline, whose 2005 Chapter 11 filing was caused in part by rising jet fuel prices.

One of the biggest savings, about $6 million a year, comes from switching to new software called Attila that helps Delta pilots and ground controllers coordinate which flights should speed up or slow down en route to save fuel and reduce congestion, said Kolshak. He said he was on a flight from New York Wednesday night that arrived 20 minutes early.

"Truth be known, maybe we would rather have slowed the plane down," he said. He said less air traffic congestion --- partly because of the new software as well as the opening of the Atlanta airport's fifth runway --- should save about $12 million a year by allowing jets to carry less reserve fuel.

Delta is aiming for $40 million in overall fuel cost savings this year, through new tactics and long-running programs such as retiring less fuel-efficient planes and flying more direct routes. Delta already has reduced aircraft weight by removing unneeded ovens and phones or installing lighter seats.