Between 1950 and 2018, efficiency per passenger grew from 0.4 to 8.2 RPK per kg of CO₂.[1]
The fuel economy in aircraft is the measure of the transport energy efficiency of aircraft.
Fuel efficiency is increased with better aerodynamics and by reducing weight, and with improved engine brake-specific fuel consumption and propulsive efficiency or thrust-specific fuel consumption.
Endurance and range can be maximized with the optimum airspeed, and economy is better at optimum altitudes, usually higher. An airline efficiency depends on its fleet fuel burn, seating density, air cargo and passenger load factor, while operational procedures like maintenance and routing can save fuel.
Average fuel burn of new aircraft fell 45% from 1968 to 2014, a compounded annual reduction 1.3% with a variable reduction rate.
In 2018, CO₂ emissions totalled 747 million tonnes for passenger transport, for 8.5 trillion revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), giving an average of 88 grams CO₂ per RPK;[2] this represents 28 g of fuel per kilometre, or a 3.5 L/100 km (67 mpg‑US) fuel consumption per passenger, on average. The worst-performing flights are short trips of from 500 to 1500 kilometres because the fuel used for takeoff is relatively large compared to the amount expended in the cruise segment, and because less fuel-efficient regional jets are typically used on shorter flights.[2]
New technology can reduce engine fuel consumption, like higher pressure and bypass ratios, geared turbofans, open rotors, hybrid electric or fully electric propulsion; and airframe efficiency with retrofits, better materials and systems and advanced aerodynamics.
^D.S.Lee; et al. (2021), "The contribution of global aviation to anthropogenic climate forcing for 2000 to 2018", Atmospheric Environment, 244: 117834, Bibcode:2021AtmEn.24417834L, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117834, PMC 7468346, PMID 32895604
^ abBrandon Graver; Kevin Zhang; Dan Rutherford (September 2019). "CO2 emissions from commercial aviation, 2018" (PDF). International Council on Clean Transportation.
and 29 Related for: Fuel economy in aircraft information
The fueleconomyinaircraft is the measure of the transport energy efficiency of aircraft. Fuel efficiency is increased with better aerodynamics and by...
Fuel efficiency (or fueleconomy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential...
Aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates from fossil fuel combustion, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their...
hours 20 minutes. Endurance (aeronautics) Flight distance record Fueleconomyinaircraft International flight List of regional airliners Longest flights...
being the reciprocal of fueleconomy. Nonetheless, fuel consumption is linked with a means of propulsion which uses liquid fuels, whilst energy efficiency...
fuel depletion and environmental pollution, by serving as energy carrier for end-uses in which electrification was not suitable. A hydrogen economy was...
as a fuel to replace gasoline. In 2005, George A. Olah proposed a "methanol economy" based on energy storage in synthetically produced methanol. In most...
drag. An aircraft that can accelerate past this speed sees a significant drag decrease, and can fly supersonically with improved fueleconomy. However...
favor of sustainable energy. Because the fossil-fuel industry is so heavily integrated in the global economy and heavily subsidized, this transition is expected...
(aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used inaircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. Avgas...
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery...
fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such...
the expense of extra weight and complexity, plus diminished range and fueleconomy compared to planes designed specifically for land-only or water-only...
District of Columbia have fuel taxes with rates that vary alongside changes in the price of fuel, the inflation rate, vehicle fuel-economy, or other factors....
plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes,...
scimitar winglets and wing refinements allowing a 4% fueleconomy improvement, and longer aircraft maintenance intervals with less downtime. The A380plus'...
the lift-to-drag ratio increases with aspect ratio, improving fueleconomyinaircraft. Asteroid – Asteroids are minor planets, especially of the inner...
Il-96-400M Related lists List of commercial jet airliners List of civil aircraft -900ULR fuel capacity: 166.5 m3 (44,000 US gal),18,000 km (9,700 nmi) range,...
slip bands. She is particularly interested in how lightweight materials that can improve fueleconomyinaircraft. Beyerlein is the editor of Scripta Materialia...
gasoline-fueled or turboprop engines. The ever-rising cost of avgas and doubts about its future availability have spurred a resurgence inaircraft diesel...
than in 2005 and they could grow by 300% by 2050. It is possible to reduce aviation's environmental footprint by better fueleconomyinaircraft. Optimising...
business-class seats and 265 economy-class seats in 2013. It was also repainted into the new Cathay Dragon livery on 3 November 2017. The aircraft had another incident...
The accident was attributed to ice crystals suspended in the aircraft'sfuel clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger (FOHE). Two other minor momentary losses...
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is not compliant...
A step climb in aviation is a series of altitude gains that improve fueleconomy by moving into thinner air as an aircraft becomes lighter and becomes...
through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air) to...
Ethanol fuel is fuel containing ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol as found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly...
Global Information