 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
B737 first officer laments his company's new fuel policy that is exacerbated by flight plans with unrealistic altitude assumptions; resulting in low arrival fuel.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1129339 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201311 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | RSW.Airport |
| State Reference | FL |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-700 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 156 Flight Crew Type 4000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue |
Narrative:
Our flight plan had us at 40;000 feet for almost the entire flight. The STAR that was filed has published altitudes much lower than what was flight planned by dispatch greatly increasing our fuel burns. Our new fuel policy already puts us into a tight spot with regard to arrival fuel; but an inaccurate flight plan with expected altitudes puts even greater pressure on our arrival fuel.the new fuel policy needs to have a larger window for error so that we aren't put into a critical fuel situation with any abnormal issues. Our flight plans should also have more accurate altitudes so that they can be trusted more for the information they are providing.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 First Officer laments his company's new fuel policy that is exacerbated by flight plans with unrealistic altitude assumptions; resulting in low arrival fuel.
Narrative: Our flight plan had us at 40;000 feet for almost the entire flight. The STAR that was filed has published altitudes much lower than what was flight planned by Dispatch greatly increasing our fuel burns. Our new fuel policy already puts us into a tight spot with regard to arrival fuel; but an inaccurate flight plan with expected altitudes puts even greater pressure on our arrival fuel.The new fuel policy needs to have a larger window for error so that we aren't put into a critical fuel situation with any abnormal issues. Our flight plans should also have more accurate altitudes so that they can be trusted more for the information they are providing.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.