Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

How much petrol used by planes to UK

  • 21-10-2019 4:21am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 5,185 ✭✭✭bobbyss


    How much petrol would the average commercial flight use Dublin to London?

    Recently the longest commercial flight from USA (I think) to Australia took place. 23 hours i believe. How much petrol would that have used also?


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 10,684 ✭✭✭✭Samuel T. Cogley


    None


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,185 ✭✭✭bobbyss


    None


    Yeah yeah yeah. Fuel. Diesel. Whatever.


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,815 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    bobbyss wrote: »
    Yeah yeah yeah. Fuel. Diesel. Whatever.

    They use kerosene and it depends on the plane, load, wind direction and how delayed they are as to how much of it they'll use.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,768 ✭✭✭✭Potential-Monke


    Found this here
    The Boeing 747 burns approximately 10 to 11 tonnes of fuel an hour when in the cruise. This equates to roughly 1 gallon (approximately 4 litres) of fuel every second. It can carry up to 238,604 liters of fuel. It has a range of about 7,790 nautical miles.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,007 ✭✭✭ Hailey Round Notch


    I guess you want something like this:

    https://www.co2nsensus.com/carbon-offset-calculator?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrrXtBRCKARIsAMbU6bGQQDjRtDpwSnjMbrHmzTySbU8UgxiikhjS9inf-7lLpuYgTSlkJjwaAmneEALw_wcB

    According to that, taking a return flight between Shannon and Heathrow is equivalent to driving about 1300km in a small car. (Obviously the flight would emit a lot more than that, but this would be pro rata per passenger.)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 2,614 ✭✭✭Captain_Crash


    There are a lot of variables involved with this. Weight, weather, aircraft type etc... but lets say you are flying with Ryanair (FR), DUB-LGW. Block time is about 1hr.

    If its Ryanair then you'll be on a 737-800 which burns approx 4.88 gallons per seat per hour (with ave capacity this is around 750 gallons per hour). Now these are ave figures and FR have 189 seats on their 737's, the max the aircraft certification's allows. So just using basic maths and ave figures that's 922 gallons. We can round that down to about 800 gallons tho as FR pack on more than the ave seat bringing the ave per seat down... additionally, FR don't carry any cargo other than the few checked bags you'll have on a flight thus reducing fuel burn (again I stress this is basic and presumptive).

    So we have about 800 gallons or just over 3000lt, or per person about 16lt. Which is just more than €20 at your local Applegreen :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,331 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    It would be important not to take a figure for usage at cruise height as being an indicator of the overall. In long haul flights about 10% of the fuel is used to climb to cruise height, and as the flight progresses fuel consumption can go down.

    I will assume that on short haul flights which is the subject of the thread, a higher percentage of fuel will be used to climb, since the cruise journey is a lot shorter.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,551 Mod ✭✭✭✭SeaFields


    There are a lot of variables involved with this. Weight, weather, aircraft type etc... but lets say you are flying with Ryanair (FR), DUB-LGW. Block time is about 1hr.

    If its Ryanair then you'll be on a 737-800 which burns approx 4.88 gallons per seat per hour (with ave capacity this is around 750 gallons per hour). Now these are ave figures and FR have 189 seats on their 737's, the max the aircraft certification's allows. So just using basic maths and ave figures that's 922 gallons. We can round that down to about 800 gallons tho as FR pack on more than the ave seat bringing the ave per seat down... additionally, FR don't carry any cargo other than the few checked bags you'll have on a flight thus reducing fuel burn (again I stress this is basic and presumptive).

    So we have about 800 gallons or just over 3000lt, or per person about 16lt. Which is just more than €20 at your local Applegreen :)

    Looking at your username, I hope you're not a pilot.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,614 ✭✭✭Captain_Crash


    SeaFields wrote: »
    Looking at your username, I hope you're not a pilot.


    Haha, no I'm not. So were all safe lol


  • Registered Users Posts: 43,017 ✭✭✭✭SEPT 23 1989


    the longest commercial flight happened 30 years ago


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 2,614 ✭✭✭Captain_Crash


    the longest commercial flight happened 30 years ago


    76 years ago


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,421 ✭✭✭ToddyDoody


    This may help:

    'A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer).'

    https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/question192.htm


  • Registered Users Posts: 22,198 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    What percentage of the air in the cabin is fart at the end of a 10 hour flight?


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,117 ✭✭✭✭Junkyard Tom


    how-planes-fly-magic-magic-ar-air-oooooooooooooooooooo0000000000000aoooooo-air-some-2689230.png


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 594 ✭✭✭Force Carrier


    Some pilots go the whole way in third gear.
    Awful waste of juice.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,231 ✭✭✭sdanseo


    The most common aircraft flying from Ireland to the UK (737-800, A320-200) will use around 3 to 5 tons of fuel for approximately 180 seats. Dublin to London for this example.

    If full, that's around 27 litres of Jet A1 each. Since jet fuel is hedged by airlines in extremely large quantities it's very comparable to the amount of fuel burnt by an individual driving the same distance but at about half the fuel cost.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,349 ✭✭✭GhostyMcGhost


    Some pilots go the whole way in third gear.
    Awful waste of juice.

    They balance it by switching off the engine for landing


  • Registered Users Posts: 463 ✭✭Jonybgud


    They balance it by switching off the engine for landing

    Yeah you just need the engines to get up there, gravity brings you down. Luckily there isn't many thorns up there punctures are rare enough...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,586 ✭✭✭ Stetson Whispering Feather


    Think Ryanair said recently it's was the most eco-friendly airline.
    Perhaps so, if i's using newer fleets of craft, and if the metals/plastics used to create them, were smelted by fairy magick and wizard wands.

    Ideally getting rid of 1st class altogether would be the best (more space/passenger load).
    The eco-warriors who often like to fly premium, can just settle for cattle class like most regular people.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,009 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    There are a lot of variables involved with this. Weight, weather, aircraft type etc... but lets say you are flying with Ryanair (FR), DUB-LGW. Block time is about 1hr.

    If its Ryanair then you'll be on a 737-800 which burns approx 4.88 gallons per seat per hour (with ave capacity this is around 750 gallons per hour).
    i assume that includes takeoff and climb? i did note a few years ago when going to bristol that aer lingus/stobart seemed to exclusively use turboprops getting there, but ryanair fly 737s. i wouldn't be surprised if the 737 never even reaches its cruising altitude on that short hop?


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Subscribers Posts: 13,408 ✭✭✭✭antodeco


    Surely they'd use less on the way back as it's downhill?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,614 ✭✭✭Captain_Crash


    i assume that includes takeoff and climb? i did note a few years ago when going to bristol that aer lingus/stobart seemed to exclusively use turboprops getting there, but ryanair fly 737s. i wouldn't be surprised if the 737 never even reaches its cruising altitude on that short hop?


    Nah I just was as basic as possible. TO and Climb would mean a change or two in the figures I gave, but also there is descent which balances out the hour (as you wouldn't be in cruise for very long)


    For any short flight to BRS, LPL MAN etc, the crew will do the maths and find the most efficient altitude to climb to (or start descending from should they never level off). On a flight to BRS they would reach a cruise level but it'll be quite low, maybe 25 or 26 thousand feet. And yes Stobart and the ATR's a so much more efficient on those routes.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,007 ✭✭✭ Hailey Round Notch


    113kg of CO2 emissions per passenger on a flight from Dublin to Heathrow according to the calculator on this page:
    How your flight emits as much CO2 as many people do in a year

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2019/jul/19/carbon-calculator-how-taking-one-flight-emits-as-much-as-many-people-do-in-a-year?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

    It takes into account the different sized aircraft used in different routes.

    Emissions by planes at an altitude are in fact more damaging than emissions at ground level.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,549 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Think Ryanair said recently it's was the most eco-friendly airline.
    Perhaps so, if i's using newer fleets of craft, and if the metals/plastics used to create them, were smelted by fairy magick and wizard wands.

    Ideally getting rid of 1st class altogether would be the best (more space/passenger load).
    The eco-warriors who often like to fly premium, can just settle for cattle class like most regular people.
    An empty 737 weighs about 40 tons so if its burning 5 tons a flight it's nearly going through it's own weigh in fuel every day doing London - Dublin

    Very rough rule of thumb it takes 2kg of oil to make 1kg of plastic.

    Unlike the average car that spends most of it's life parked commercial aircraft are worked hard.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,231 ✭✭✭sdanseo


    An empty 737 weighs about 40 tons so if its burning 5 tons a flight it's nearly going through it's own weigh in fuel every day doing London - Dublin

    Very rough rule of thumb it takes 2kg of oil to make 1kg of plastic.

    Unlike the average car that spends most of it's life parked commercial aircraft are worked hard.

    True figure there is about half that. 4 tons an hour is a handy average as is a figure of six sectors a day for short haul.

    6x4 = 24 tons and proportionately less if used for longer flights, burn will be about 2-2.5 tons per hour in the cruise.

    In the same amount of time it will have carried almost 1,000 people who if they all drove their cars 500km would have used 25,000L or 20+ tons of petrol/diesel. Everything is relative.


Advertisement