Originally Posted by
OPNLguy
That assumption at the end of your post is a common one, and one often promulgated by movies and misinformation from the media, so you're not alone in having it by any means.
Airliners are
not like automobiles, i.e. one "fills them up" just before an aircraft's first flight of the day, and refuels once the needle gets closer towards the big "E" later in the day. Airline flight fuel loads are mission-specific, and a big factor in that is the duration of the flight (mission).
There's no false assumption on my part, at least in regard to anything you've said above. My question was within the context of already knowing what you describe above.
Perhaps another way to put what you said is that under normal conditions, an aircraft would be fueled with the mininum amount of fuel to accomplish its mission, including the required safety factors, rather than "filling up the tank." I guess another way to state my question is that under normal conditions, how much below maximum landing weight is a typical flight expected to arrive? I'd be surprised if it was 0 lbs (that is, that all flights are expected to arrive right at maximum weight) unless there is some other factor, such as a large variance in cargo that can be loaded.