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Although the A320 family show considerably lower fuel burn penalties than the other aircraft, the total fuel penalty is of a similar order due to the high number of sectors per day. It can readily be seen that a 1% weight penalty has a significant impact on fuel costs when looked at on a yearly basis for a fleet of aircraft.
4.2.3 AIRCRAFT OPERATING WEIGHT
The operating empty weight of an aircraft is defined as the manufacturer’s weight empty plus the operator’s items. The latter include the flight and cabin crew and their baggage, unusable fuel, engine oil, emergency equipment, toilet chemicals and fluids, galley structure, catering equipment, seats, documents, etc.
The OEW of new aircraft, even in the same fleet, can vary significantly, due to specification changes, build differences and normal scatter. Also aircraft generally get heavier all through their operational life. This is due to repair schemes, service bulletins, equipment upgrades, dirt, rubbish and moisture accumulation and unnecessary equipment and supplies.
This variation in weight requires regular monitoring for flight planning purposes. In general most weight growth is inevitable and it cannot be controlled at the operational level. However the airline has to be sensitive to these problems and efforts have to be made in order to avoid excess weight, such as dirt, rubbish and unnecessary equipment and supplies. It should be noted that 100kg of excess weight requires an additional 5000kg of fuel per year per aircraft.
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