Re:Germany pushes for ‘pay as you fly’ model
by sokoloff on Friday September 02, 2022 @04:18AM
(#32688091)
When load factors get too high, recovery from irregular ops (weather, crew, or mechanical disruptions) becomes a nightmare for passengers. People end up stranded for days without available seats.
Re:Germany pushes for ‘pay as you fly’ model
by kashkhan on Friday September 02, 2022 @04:08PM
(#32695198)
slowing down 5% adds 10 minutes flying time to a 3 hour flight. Drag varies with square of speed except when you get close to Mach 1 where it gets much worse.
Its also possible to fly 20% (36kft vs 30k) higher where drag for the same speed will be lower. Drag varies linearly with density.
An aircraft purposely designed for low fuel consumption could save 50% or more jet fuel without being significantly slower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_D8
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/future_airp...
Either way, what about the unintended consequences for travellers if a slow down was mandated permanently?
You would need at least 15% more planes, pilots, ground personnel, etc... to handle the reduced bandwidth. For non-direct flights, fewer connections could be made likely increasing the airport population its ancillary services.
Airlines already do this from time to time usually when fuel costs outpaces pricing power:
https://www.reuters.com/article/airlines-fuelcells-kemp/refi...