PHOENIX (AP) - Airlines are trying to lighten up to lower costs.
Jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of last year. To use less fuel, airplanes have been getting lighter.
And even the little items add up.
Companies have taken steps ranging from using lighter refreshment carts, to pulling out the seat-back phones and their heavy wiring folded inside. Unused ovens, magazine racks and trash compactors have been pulled out during the past few years. Some paper manuals in the cockpit have been replaced by electronic maintenance logbooks.
American Airlines, for instance, burned 2.8 billion gallons of fuel in 2007. After the recent weight cuts, it estimates it will conserve about 111 million gallons this year.
The lighter carts on US Airways will save the airline 1.7 million dollars a year in fuel costs.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement