Airlines Turn to Cleanliness to Save Money
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 06.11.08 | 3:29 PM ET
Southwest has saved $1.6 million since April by washing some of its planes’ engines every night, thereby reducing drag. It’s just one practice airlines have incorporated to fight the rise in fuel prices. Among the other inventive ways airlines are trying to offset skyrocketing costs, according to the New York Times: carrying less water in airplane bathrooms, flying slower and installing lighter seats.
Of course, there’s another all-too-predictable way airlines battle rising fuel costs: By passing along a $20 fuel surcharge to us, the travelers, just as American Airlines did today.
Related on World Hum:
* Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Airlines May Start Treating Passengers as ‘Freight’‘
Photo by Cubbie_n_Vegas via Flickr (Creative Commons).