---
title: "The math of airline fuel efficiency: the secret formula!| OpenAirlines"
description: What is the secret formula for airline fuel efficiency? Find out how much fuel you can save per flight and calculate potential savings for your airline.
image: https://blog.openairlines.com/hubfs/maths-airline-1.jpeg
---
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# The math of airline fuel efficiency: the secret formula!
Published by [Alexandre](https://blog.openairlines.com/author/alexandre) on May 16, 2018, 10:08:08 AM
The spike in fuel prices, generally airlines' biggest cost, is hitting carriers' profits and jeopardizing their developement.
The [IATA chart](https://www.iata.org/publications/economics/Reports/chart-of-the-week/Chart-of-the-week-03-May-19.pdf#__prclt=JvjAlMzr)below is worth a thousand words...
You probably worry about the impact on your airline costs. Indeed, fuel price trends are a real issue for airlines since fuel generally represents 30% of their costs.
Good news is [fuel cost does not just depend on fuel price, but also on fuel efficiency.](https://blog.openairlines.com/costs-excluding-fuel-crazy)
Airline fuel efficiency consists in multiplying small quantities by big numbers.
The math is really simple, and I will share with you the secret formula that you can apply to your favorite airline:
** Fuel saved = \_\_\_\_\_ kg or lbs saved per flight x \_\_\_\_\_ number of flights per day x 365 😊**
In this formula, the amount of fuel saved per flight is the small quantity and the number of flights per year is the big number.
Using various fuel saving techniques and with the proper tools, it is not too difficult to achieve from **50 kg to 150 kg** fuel saving on a short-haul flight and from **200 kg to 1,000 kg** fuel saving on a long-haul flight.
To give you an idea of what is at stake, I have created this **simple computation table** that you can use to quickly evaluate the potential for your airline:
| **Fuel saved** | **50 kg (110 lbs) per flight** | **100 kg (220 lbs) per flight** | **250 kg (551 lbs) per flight** | **500 kg (1102 lbs) per flight** | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **100 flights / day** | 1,825 tons | 4 million lbs | 3,650 tons | 8 million lbs | 9,125 tons | 20 million lbs | 18,250 tons | 40 million lbs |
| **500 flights / day** | 9,125 tons | 20 million lbs | 18,250 tons | 40 million lbs | 45,625 tons | 101 million lbs | 91,250 tons | 201 million lbs |
| **1,000 flights / day** | 18,250 tons | 40 million lbs | 36,500 tons | 80 million lbs | 91,250 tons | 201 million lbs | 182,500 tons | 402 million lbs |
| **2,000 flights / day** | 36,500 tons | 80 million lbs | 73,000 tons | 161 million lbs | 182,500 tons | 402 million lbs | 365,000 tons | 805 million lbs |
Considering the current average price of fuel is **700 USD/tons**, the math gives:
| **Dollars saved** | **50 kg (110 lbs) per flight** | **100 kg (220 lbs) per flight** | **250 kg (551 lbs) per flight** | **500 kg (1102 lbs) per flight** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **100 flights / day** | 1.3 M USD | 2.6 M USD | 6 M USD | 13 M USD |
| **500 flights / day** | 6.4 M USD | 13 M USD | 32 M USD | 64 M USD |
| **1,000 flights / day** | 13 M USD | 26 M USD | 64 M USD | 128 M USD |
| **2,000 flights / day** | 26 M USD | 51 M USD | 128 M USD | 256 M USD |
And if I apply this math to a few select airlines, this gives:
- **United Airlines** (4,500 flights/day at 250 kg / 440 lbs each): **288 M USD**
- **Ryanair** (2,000 flights/day at 150 kg / 330 lbs each): **76 M USD**
- **China Southern** (2,000/day flights at 250 kg / 400 lbs each): **128 M USD**
So, are you ready to apply this math to your own airline?
**Download our simple saving calculator: **
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/4233951/7113bde0-1d86-4b36-9ddd-a69d443bcbb7)
---
##### **READ MORE:**
Like what you see? Want to learn more about airline fuel efficiency?
Discover case studies and stories from airlines that have been there:
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/4233951/1fd2fb5c-3106-4a16-bf69-f8467d98bbe6)
Tags: [Fuel efficiency](https://blog.openairlines.com/tag/fuel-efficiency)
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