8 minutes. The time added to Northwest Airlines transatlantic flight by flying 10 m.p.h. slower, saving 162 gallons of fuel during the flight.
$42 million. The projected savings in fuel costs that Southwest Airlines expects this year by reducing speeds, adding 1 to 3 minutes to its flights. -via TIME
It’s amazing how much fuel can be saved by just sacrificing a couple extra minutes.
That’s pretty cool, but we’re not talking about Joe Douchebag and his Hyundai Accent. NWA (google finance) made $3.2bn in gross profit in 2007. $42 million would be 1.3% of that gross profit. It’s an interesting statistic, but it’s hardly a drop in their bucket.