UPS is to become the first express airline to fly continuous descent approaches (CDAs) on more thana trial basis later this year, in a move that will save the express carrier around a million
gallons of fuel a year.The company’s air management team have been trialling CDA for the past decade and the latesttests at UPS’s Worldport hub in Louisville, USA, have persuaded it to apply the procedure acrossthe freighter fleet, according to the McGraw-Hill magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology.
CDA is a flying technique where a jet uses idle power to glide down to an airport making lessnoise, burning less fuel and creating fewer emissions. The CDA saves between 250 and 465 pounds offuel on each of the company’s 22,000 arrivals at Louisville, said the magazine, which was allowedto observe the tests firsthand.
It will save UPS almost $1.8 million a year in fuel costs and cut noise by 30% and nitrogenoxide emissions by 34%, and reduce CO-2 emissions too.
UPS has also successfully tested Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) cockpitdisplay technology, said Aviation World, which will allow it to proactively manage aircraftdeparture queues instead of relying solely on air traffic controllers, further reducing fuel useand emissions.
