[Curiosities] American Airlines

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American Airlines surpasses its olive feat: it will save millions on fuel by changing beverage carts

 

Are you a cost control freak? Well if so, you are in luck. His company of reference when it comes to being creative in cuts has done it again. American Airlines, the airline that in 1987 achieved a place of honor in the anecdotes of all the managers of the world by saving $ 40,000 a year just by removing an olive from the salads that were served in first class has a new objective: the trolleys of drinks.

Even more difficult. After American Airlines left CFOs around the world astonished after managing to save some 40,000 dollars during the 1980s just by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class, the airline seems to be going to repeat the ' feat '... but with considerably more savings.

This time the story is provided by the Bloomberg news agency - about the 'feat' of the olive there are people who believe that it is an urban legend, despite the fact that the main media still talk about the news - and although 20 years have passed , the goal of the airline again is catering.

Lighter carts
The company is targeting beverage carts and, specifically, their weight, and for this reason it has announced that it will replace the current ones with which it serves beverages on its flights, with another nine kilos lighter.

Although it sounds anecdotal, this measure would mean a significant reduction in the total weight carried by its aircraft. Specifically, 190 kilos in the Boeing 777 and 54 in the MD-80.

Fuel savings
This will have repercussions, as it was not very difficult to suppose, in a saving for the company in fuel more than considerable.

Although neither the airline nor the Bloomberg news agency have just estimated the same, according to some figures that both provide - such as reducing around 45 kilos of weight in the devices represents an estimated annual saving of about 2.8 million dollars - the reduction of the annual cost per plane would be important.

Thus, in the case of the 777 it could be at 11.76 million dollars -about 8.4 million euros- and in the MD-80, at 1.19 million dollars -about 860,000 euros-.

This is good news for American Airlines since this savings has a direct impact on one of the main costs that every airline has: fuel - the other is labor costs.

And is that the need is pressing: this week the price of aviation fuel in New York reached its highest in two years, standing at 2.35 dollars a gallon.