Airlines Now flying Planes Slower To Save Fuel

The cost of fuel seems to be hitting the economy very hard these days and the airline industry is no exception to this of course. With the cost of fuel set to hit and likely exceed the $4 a gallon level this summer it is even more expensive to buy jet fuel in fact. It is set to be up around $6-$7 for that precious stuff this summer as well. With these increasing costs the airline industry is scrambling to find ways to cut it expenses in order to avoid further having to raise fares and thereby alienating the flying public. One of the more interesting ways the airline industry is trying to save on fuel is by slowing down the speed at which it flies its jets from place to place. Southwest Airlines for example is estimating that it will save somewhere in the neighborhood of 42 million dollars this year by simply reducing the speed of its jets in flight by 1 to 3 M.P.H. a trip. Northwest Airlines figures that it will add about 10 minutes to the length of a transatlantic flight by slowing its planes down by 10 M.P.H. thereby saving about 160 gallons of fuel on a trip over the Atlantic. Desperate times call for somewhat desperate measures it seems.