Originally Posted by CharlesMD
With AA trying to save money by not painting its planes, eliminating pillows, and food in coach, I was wondering if fuel costs are so ridiculous, why doesn't AA fly its planes a little bit slower to increase fuel efficiency? Didn't CO try to do something like that, giving pilots cash incentives if they saved fuel? For example, on Microsoft FS2004, if you drop the speed on a 777 from M0.84 to 0.82 you can save 10% on your fuel burn, and if you drop the speed to 0.79 you can save even more.
Another question I was thinking about is if AA could retrofit its planes with the blended winglets to increase fuel efficiency. Maybe they could team up with the Sierra club, getting them to pay 10% to save the planet or something??
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So you totally believe the MS Flight Sim models?
A couple of weeks ago I fired up the GPS on an MD80 inbound to LAX from DFW. Somewhere around PHX we noted that the groundspeed was 400 MPH. We were at FL320, in smooth air, and could have been bucking a serious headwind but there was no sense of that, and we would have made schedule had the gate been available. So I guessed AA was doing as you suggested, and asked here if anyone knew that to be the case.
I kinda got jumped by folks who insisted that it was *certainly* headwind, and besides there was no savings to be had by flying slower, so I lost interest in the thread. Someone who sounded as if he actually knew did comment that the MD80 was a slow a/c.