Originally Posted by
pinniped
It begs the question: does it make financial sense to do a technical stop? .
Originally Posted by
Proudelitist
Aircraft burn a huge amount of fuel on takeoff, compared to the amount they burn in cruise, but there IS a diminishing return at a certain point where that efficiency drops.
There is a calculation possible of the minimum fuel including fuel burn for cruise, take off, on ground taxiing, fuel to diversion, etc to determine the most fuel efficient sector length for a long haul flight.
There is a calculation possible of the minimum cost of segments, including cost for cruise, take off, landing, fuel cost (can be different around the world), crew, aircraft maintenance (based on cycles & hours), etc to determine the most cost efficient sector length for a long haul flight.
Those 2 calculations will very likley not have the same answer. Then you need at airport at those optimum sector lengths (that's unlikely).
And then politics' come in play, as some direct routes are not possible.