Let’s take a look at how much Jet A a widebody aircraft actually uses as it traverses the skies.
Nearly 25-40% of an airline operating expenses are used on jet fuel. While an average air traveler may not consider technicalities like fuel requirement and consumption during a typical transatlantic flight, it makes a large portion of the ticket price passengers pay. So, how much fuel does an airliner consume during flight? Well, that depends on a multitude of factors, including aircraft’s empty weight, carried payload, efficiency of the engines, flight path, and weather conditions.
With sustainability and climate change looming large on the agenda, CO2 emissions and the fossil-based fuels that cause them have gained more time in the spotlight. Rising fuel prices are also in the news as a result of the war in Ukraine. Despite the complexities of these variables, we look at approximate numbers in terms of the type and size of aircraft and typical flight routes.
Staggering numbers
Approximate fuel consumption
- Boeing 787: 2,900 gallons per hour
- Boeing 747: 3,800 gallons per hour
- Airbus A350: 2,700 gallons per hour
- Airbus A380: 4,600 gallons per hour
When you start to examine the numbers, they start to get pretty big, pretty quick. A jet aircraft uses a phenomenal amount of fuel. While several more fuel-efficient aircraft are traversing the skies today, a Boeing 747 quadjet burns up to one gallon of fuel every second. Every. Second. That means that during a five-hour flight, a Boeing 747 will burn 18,000 gallons of fuel. No wonder passenger airlines have waved goodbye to the Queen of the Skies in favor of twinjet widebodies.
The largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, consumes slightly more fuel than the Boeing 747, thanks to its higher capacity, and therefore greater MTOW. A typical A380 consumes 4,600 gallons of fuel each hour. So, for a five-hour flight, approximately 23,000 gallons of jet fuel is utilized. That is about 1.3 gallons each second.
Compare that to the average motor vehicle. The average level of consumption for a brand-new car is approximately 35 miles to the gallon, which means that in order to burn 23,000 gallons of fuel, a car would have to travel more than three quarters of a million miles.
Modern twin-engine aircraft
Meanwhile, generally considered to be one of the most fuel-efficient widebodies on the market, the Airbus A350 and its Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines consume around 38 lb per nautical mile. This equals approximately 17,000 gallons of fuel for a flight between New York Newark (EWR) and London Heathrow (LHR) of just over 3,000 NM. That is approximately 2,400 gallons each hour for a seven-hour flight, and about 0.65 gallons each second.
A Boeing 787-9 is not very different, burning approximately 2,700 gallons per hour. Notably, these are only published numbers for reference. The actual fuel consumption varies based on numerous factors.
Modern twin jets are significantly more efficient than a quadjet, but still a mindboggling amount. Particularly as one considers that there are currently 57 return flights between London and New York on any given day.
Not entirely uneconomical
But the comparison is not as simple as it might seem initially. Every airliner carries considerably more people than the average car; in the case of the Boeing 747, it’s 568 in total. But even if the flight isn’t fully occupied, and only around 500 seats are sold, it becomes clear that air travel isn’t as uneconomical as it first appears.
When this is taken into consideration, a Boeing 747 is, in fact, burning only 0.01 gallons per person onboard for every mile that it travels. This means that the aircraft is achieving 100 miles to the gallon for every passenger. That means the jetliner is ultimately nearly twice as fuel-efficient as a car carrying one person.
Of course, the figures change as more people travel in a car, which is why carpooling and other ecologically friendly forms of commuting are often advocated. Meanwhile, aviation is responsible for only 12% of all CO2 emissions from the transport sector, compared to 74% from road transport.
Fueling guidelines
When it comes to fueling aircraft, there are strict guidelines in place because of the vast amounts involved. Airlines have to comply with regulatory procedures, which are broadly similar across the world. But under FAA and EASA regulations, the Captain of an aircraft is responsible for ensuring that it has enough fuel before taking off.
This fuel store encompasses:
- Trip fuel
- Diversion fuel
- Reserve fuel
- Contingency fuel
- Taxi fuel
- Additional fuel
There are strict stipulations in place for each of these; for example, contingency fuel is required to be at least 5% on top of the total fuel needed for the trip. Most aircraft have vast reserves for storing fuel, with the A350 capable of carrying over 37,000 gallons.
Soaring ticket prices
Fuel costs for carriers can be pretty staggering – especially when taking into consideration that global jet fuel prices have gone up in recent years. If we stick to the previous example of the transatlantic crossing, one flight from New York to London, if operated by an Airbus A350 XWB, would cost nearly $110,000 in fuel, considering the current average price of $6.46 per gallon. No wonder airlines have had to resort to raising ticket costs to cope with the additional expenses.
Unfortunately, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) still accounts for only 0.1% of all jet fuel usage globally. And while significant investments are being made to increase that, it will still be a long way to go before we start seeing it deployed in amounts that will have an impact on overall emissions and other numbers.
Source: https://simpleflying.com/jet-aircraft-fuel-consumption/