Effect of Ambient Temperature Variations on the Direct Operating Cost of a Domestic Flight

Abstract

This paper analyzes the direct effect of variable ambient temperature during the cruising phase and its effects on the strategies to reduce airlines direct operating costs. Fuel and time efficiency have become an increasingly important factor in the aviation industry. The fuel is one of the largest parts of airlines operating expenses and time is a parameter affecting direct operating cost items such as flight crew salaries, air traffic enroute charges and maintenance etc. A comprehensive aircraft performance model is developed to estimate the changes in fuel consumption and flight time by an Airbus 320-214 due to daily temperature variations. The seasonal change of the tropopause height is taken into the account in the atmosphere model. Cost index is kept as constant in the analyses. A domestic flight between Istanbul and Hakkari is used as a sample to predict changes in the direct cost of flight at day and night, in the summer and the winter seasons. The flight time is noticed to be changing significantly with respect to temperature variations.