U.S. Domestic Airline Fuel Efficiency Ranking, 2010
This report assesses and compares the fuel efficiency of airlines serving the U.S. domestic market in 2010. The analysis presented here rigorously compares the efficiency of all airlines independent of size, network structure, or type of service, with a methodology that improves upon previous efforts in four fundamental ways. First, it uses airline-reported fuel consumption data, rather than modeled estimates, to account fully for all the ways in which airlines can reduce fuel burn (e.g., aircraft technology or operational practices). Second, it develops an efficiency metric that recognizes that airlines burn fuel to provide both mobility (measured in terms of passenger miles traveled) and access (frequency of service and number of airports served), allowing an equitable comparison between airlines. Third, the efficiency metric distinguishes productive from nonproductive miles flown by identifying those airlines that operate particularly circuitous routes. Finally, the study attributes the transport service provided by, and fuel consumption of, affiliate carriers to mainline carriers in order to enable comprehensive comparisons across carriers’ full business operations. A large gap exists between the most and least efficient airlines, with figures suggesting the least efficient would have used 26 percent more fuel than the most efficient to provide a comparable level of transport service in 2010. A gap of this size suggests that the relationship between fuel efficiency and airline profitability is far from straightforward. Approximately one-third of this variation can be attributed to differences in technology, with the balance related to a complex set of characteristics such as seating density, operational practices (e.g., fuel loading), load factor, and route circuity.
- Record URL:
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Corporate Authors:
International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)
1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC United States 20005 -
Authors:
- Zeinali, Mazyar
- Rutherford, Daniel
- Kwan, Irene
- Kharina, Anastasia
- Publication Date: 2013
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Edition: Final Report
- Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
- Pagination: 37p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Air routes; Aircraft; Aircraft operations; Airlines; Aviation fuels; Environmental impact analysis; Fuel consumption; Methodology
- Subject Areas: Aviation; Energy; Operations and Traffic Management; I70: Traffic and Transport;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01492975
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
- Files: BTRIS, TRIS
- Created Date: Sep 16 2013 9:37AM