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Uncertainties that flight crews and dispatchers must consider when calculating the fuel needed for a flightIn 1993, fuel accounted for approximately 15 percent of an airline's expenses. Fuel consumption increases as fuel reserves increase because of the added weight to the aircraft. Calculating fuel reserves is a function of Federal Aviation Regulations, airline company policy, and factors that impact or are impacted by fuel usage enroute. This research studied how pilots and dispatchers determined the fuel needed for a flight and identified areas where improvements in methods may yield measurable fuel savings by (1) listing the uncertainties that contribute to adding contingency fuel, (2) obtaining the pilots' and dispatchers' perspective on how often each uncertainty occurred, and (3) obtaining pilots' and dispatchers' perspective on the fuel used for each occurrence. This study found that for the majority of the time, pilots felt that dispatchers included enough fuel. As for the uncertainties that flight crews and dispatchers account for, air traffic control accounts for 28% and weather uncertainties account for 58 percent. If improvements can be made in these two areas, a great potential exists to decrease the reserve required, and therefore, fuel usage without jeopardizing safety.
Document ID
19960042496
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Technical Memorandum (TM)
Authors
Trujillo, Anna C. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1996
Subject Category
Air Transportation And Safety
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.15:110240
NASA-TM-110240
Report Number: NAS 1.15:110240
Report Number: NASA-TM-110240
Accession Number
96N31486
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 505-64-53-01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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