Reducing Fuel Consumption in Aircraft: A Cruising Strategy-Based Approach

The increasing environmental concerns related to aircraft carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions call for efficient fuel-saving strategies. This study proposes an alternative cruising strategy to minimize fuel consumption during the cruise flight phase by introducing a two-phase maneuver consisting of a descent followed by a climb. Constraints related to both passenger comfort and aviator regulatory frameworks are considered to ensure the feasibility of the proposed strategy in real-world operational contexts. Using closed-form formulas of the aircraft’s fuel consumption, this strategy is compared against the conventional constant altitude cruise approach. Numerical simulations using data from a Boeing 767-300ER show that the proposed strategy can achieve reduction in fuel consumption at the cost of an increment in flight time. This can be achieved by repeating the proposed strategy as many times as needed according to the distance to be covered during the cruise flight phase.