TRENDS IN ENERGY USE AND FUEL EFFICIENCY IN THE U.S. COMMERCIAL AIRLINE INDUSTRY

The relative contributions of four components of fuel-efficiency gain to total efficiency improvement in the U.S. commercial airline industry since the 1973 oil embargo are identified, and a determination is made as to whether the efficiency improvements after 1973 represent a change in behavior from past trends. Civil Aeronautics Board data are used. Total efficiency increases since 1973 are divided into four components of efficiency gain/load factor, mix, seating capacity, and technical and operating efficiency. The contribution of each component to the improvement of fuel efficiency is measured by estimating how much fuel would have been needed to deliver actual services in a particular year had the component under study been held at its 1973 level while the other components varied. The rise in load factors accounts for one-third of the efficiency gain from 1973 to 1980. The increase is due in part to deregulation of the industry. Seating capacity made the second largest contribution, followed by mix and technical and operating efficiency. To compare pre- and post-embargo trends, a trend of yearly seat miles per gallon for the pre-embargo period was derived and extrapolated into the post-1973 period. Actual seat miles per gallon does not rise above the historic trend until 1979. Industry behavior did not change its historic patterns until 1979. Apparently, that was the first time that fuel costs became a significant financial burden to the airlines. The industry response to the fuel price rise was hampered by the time lag involved in introducing new-model aircraft into the fleet. (Author)

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1982/870/870-015.pdf
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Energy Conservation and Transportation Demand. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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• Authors:
  • Smith, Joel B
• Conference:
  • 61st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1982-1-18 to 1982-1-22
• Publication Date: 1982

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 90-97
• Monograph Title: ENERGY ISSUES IN TRANSPORTATION
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 870
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Civil aircraft; Costs; Deregulation; Economic efficiency; Energy consumption; Fuel consumption; Fuels; Load factor; Trend (Statistics); Vehicle capacity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Efficiency
• Old TRIS Terms: Commercial planes; Seating capacity
• Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00371345
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309033748
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-035 242
• Files: HSL, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 31 1983 12:00AM