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Winglets cut airlines' fuel bills, provide opportunities for cargo carriers

WINGLETS have been used by airlines since the 1990s and 2000s to reduce the fuel consumption of their aircraft, but aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace says they provide other benefits too, especially for cargo carriers.

Without a winglet, the two different levels of pressure around the wing tip create a vortex, which makes extra drag on the plane. The plane must then work harder to get through the vortex, resulting in higher fuel burn.

"What the winglet does, it kind of creates an obstacle at the wingtip, a kind of a fence, that will be an obstacle to the creation of that vortex," said section chief for the advanced design group of Bombardier Aerospace, Jean-Francois Viau.

Mr Viau says if a plane burns less fuel on its route, an airline can not only save money, it can choose to put more cargo on the plane. An airline can also use the same payload and fly a longer distance with the fuel saved, reports Atlanta area Air Cargo World.

"That gives you all the flexibility," Mr Viau was quoted as saying. "Either it opens up new routes, more revenue because you have more cargo, or less fuel burn so it's better profit."

According to aircraft manufacturers, planes made with winglets provide five per cent saving in fuel burn.

A winglet retrofitted onto a plane provides a two to three per cent reduction in fuel burn, says vice president global engineering and senior technical fellow for manufacturer GKN Aerospace, Chris Gear.

Winglets also help take-off by improving a plane's initial climb capabilities.

"Maybe your aircraft can now operate from more demanding airports, so airports with shorter runways or airports located at high altitude or in hot temperatures," Mr Viau said. "It opens up new markets."

With that extra take-off capability, the aircraft also requires less thrust, meaning less noise. This could make night operations easier.

United Airlines consumes four billion gallons of oil per year, according to senior manager of fleet strategy and planning James Larson. He estimates that this is roughly one per cent of the world's oil supply.

"We're always looking for ways that we can mitigate and minimise our exposure to fuel, especially fluctuating fuel prices, and obviously one way to do that is to reduce your total consumption. So winglets help do that," Mr Larson says.

United has the blended winglet on all of its Boeing 737s and many of its B757s and B767s. It first began using winglets in 2000.

Earlier this year, United was the launch customer for the split scimitar winglet, which promises up to an additional two per cent fuel burn savings for each aircraft. The carrier is retrofitting its B737s with the split scimitar winglet.