Last edit by: rybob1
Retrofitted Aircraft:
N524AS, N526AS (Jun 12), N546AS (Jun 1), N556AS, N557AS, N558AS, N583AS, N585AS, N586AS and N588AS.
Thanks to Putzy & ASDriver
N524AS, N526AS (Jun 12), N546AS (Jun 1), N556AS, N557AS, N558AS, N583AS, N585AS, N586AS and N588AS.
Thanks to Putzy & ASDriver
AS to retrofit fleet with split scimitar winglets
#1
Original Poster
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AS to retrofit fleet with split scimitar winglets
Originally Posted by Alaska Airlines
SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines jetliners will soon fly more efficiently thanks to a new performance-enhancing winglet the carrier is installing on its Boeing Next Generation 737s, which will reduce fuel consumption by 58,000 gallons a year per aircraft. The split winglet will save the airline $20 million and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 57,000 tons annually, which is the equivalent of taking about 11,900 passenger vehicles off the road each year.*
"Reducing fuel consumption has been a top priority at Alaska Airlines for years," said Mark Eliasen, Alaska Airlines' vice president of finance and treasurer. "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our employees, we've cut our carbon emissions by 30 percent per passenger mile since 2004. Investing in split winglets will further reduce our fuel use and continue our efforts to be the industry leader in environmental stewardship."
Among other efforts to lower fuel consumption, Alaska migrated to a fleet of all-Boeing 737s, the most efficient aircraft in its class, installed lighter inflight food and beverage carts, and instituted procedures such as taxiing on one engine instead of two.
The International Council on Clean Transportation , a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., ranked Alaska No. 1 in fuel efficiency among all 15 major U.S. airlines in a report it released in September.
Winglets save fuel by reducing drag, which allows aircraft to fly at cruise speed with less engine power. Alaska Airlines will recoup the cost of the winglets through fuel savings in about two years.
Designed by Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing, the first winglet will be installed early next year and the project will be completed by 2017. Alaska plans to install the winglets on 111 aircraft, including most of its 737-800s, -900s and all of its -900ERs. Installation will be scheduled on each aircraft during routine maintenance inspections.
"Reducing fuel consumption has been a top priority at Alaska Airlines for years," said Mark Eliasen, Alaska Airlines' vice president of finance and treasurer. "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our employees, we've cut our carbon emissions by 30 percent per passenger mile since 2004. Investing in split winglets will further reduce our fuel use and continue our efforts to be the industry leader in environmental stewardship."
Among other efforts to lower fuel consumption, Alaska migrated to a fleet of all-Boeing 737s, the most efficient aircraft in its class, installed lighter inflight food and beverage carts, and instituted procedures such as taxiing on one engine instead of two.
The International Council on Clean Transportation , a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., ranked Alaska No. 1 in fuel efficiency among all 15 major U.S. airlines in a report it released in September.
Winglets save fuel by reducing drag, which allows aircraft to fly at cruise speed with less engine power. Alaska Airlines will recoup the cost of the winglets through fuel savings in about two years.
Designed by Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing, the first winglet will be installed early next year and the project will be completed by 2017. Alaska plans to install the winglets on 111 aircraft, including most of its 737-800s, -900s and all of its -900ERs. Installation will be scheduled on each aircraft during routine maintenance inspections.
#2
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: LON
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Yawn. UA has had these in testing on a 737-800 since July.
Also by:
does AS really mean C and D checks? One would think that this swap and the needed flight testing for vibrations couldn't occur with a couple of days in the hangar for a B check.
How has AS retrofitted in the past?
Also by:
...Installation will be scheduled on each aircraft during routine maintenance inspections...
How has AS retrofitted in the past?
#3
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Yawn. UA has had these in testing on a 737-800 since July.
Also by: does AS really mean C and D checks? One would think that this swap and the needed flight testing for vibrations couldn't occur with a couple of days in the hangar for a B check.
How has AS retrofitted in the past?
Also by: does AS really mean C and D checks? One would think that this swap and the needed flight testing for vibrations couldn't occur with a couple of days in the hangar for a B check.
How has AS retrofitted in the past?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...-winglets.html
Retrofitting of the airline's Boeing 737-700 fleet will be done by
Goodrich Aviation Technical Services in Everett, Wash., as the aircraft
complete routine heavy maintenance checks. Winglets on new 737-800 aircraft
will be factory installed by Boeing.
Goodrich Aviation Technical Services in Everett, Wash., as the aircraft
complete routine heavy maintenance checks. Winglets on new 737-800 aircraft
will be factory installed by Boeing.
#4
Join Date: May 2008
Location: SEA
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Posts: 189
#6
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SEA
Posts: 239
Yawn. UA has had these in testing on a 737-800 since July.
does AS really mean C and D checks? One would think that this swap and the needed flight testing for vibrations couldn't occur with a couple of days in the hangar for a B check.
How has AS retrofitted in the past?
How has AS retrofitted in the past?
Most of the planes that were retrofitted with the blended winglets required structural wing modifications. All of these mods were done by outside vendors.
#8
Join Date: Aug 2012
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AS doesn't have B or D checks. If the installation of the scimitar winglets, which are a modification of the current blended winglet, do not require any structural mods, then it could be done during overnight or EMV(24HR) maintenance in SEA. Since the article states 2017 as the year of completion, they will probably be done during C checks.
You could be right about the test bed for the winglets. The plane is definitely UA branded, but it could be leased.
#9
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Portland, Or USA
Posts: 1,800
Winglets save fuel by reducing drag, which allows aircraft to fly at cruise speed with less engine power. Alaska Airlines will recoup the cost of the winglets through fuel savings in about two years
#10
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SEA
Posts: 239
AS Maintenance program hasn't included D checks for a long time. Instead of doing a D/SI check, they break it up and spread it over numerous C checks. The current checks are Daily, 3-Day, Service, A and C checks.
#11
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
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#13
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75k
Posts: 922
How so? They've used fences since the A310 came out, and are finally moving to a copy of the blended winglets on the A320NEO and A350 (also, optional on existing A320s). Boeing has been selling blended winglets for more than a decade.
#14
Join Date: Jan 2013
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http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/n....html?page=all