Just for the record I heard that it was a gate footprint issue, but the benefit analysis makes sense as well. How much will a 757 with winglets flying BHM-MEM save vs one without? That airplane will sit for 23 of 24 hours a day.

I'm sure there is some point on the bean-counter's graphs where winglets make money for us - and that is when the 757 going to Billings uses $XhugeX less dollars of fuel than the BHM, BNA, ATL, BFE, MSY, and any 757 doing the AFW-SAT-HRL or AFW-TUL run. Because to mod a 757 and then have to MX spare it onto BHM or BNA would seem like a waste of several million dollars.

Just my take, of course, but I wouldn't hold your breath on any FDX 757 winglets. Although they do look damn sexy.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/...96733ea0_o.jpg

Here is the company that makes the winglets for the 757. It is a joint partnership between Aviation Partners and Boeing.

Aviation Partners Boeing

If you click around on there you can see the tremendous cost benefit which will only get better with the increased fuel prices.

I have heard directly from one of the pilots on the 757 initial cadre team that it was not a cost, or footprint issue (only 9ft wider) , but an engineering dept. issue. That is the engineering dept. feels that their plate is full already by getting the 757 cargo converted and a glass cockpit installed. Plus they are dong all the mods to the md11 as well.

Personally, like most of you, it seems like it would make the most sense to do it now when the plane is in pieces and already out of service but what do I know? Sounds like one of the fedex empires creating job security for themselves when 2 yrs from now they'll have this great idea to install winglets! LOL

The winglets are not cheap and so one would have to look at total time to recover costs and length of legs flown. For a company that does not have a high daily utilization, the pay back may be well into the future. Still, with the cost of fuel continuing to rise, the question will continue to be asked and at some point, they will probably become worthwhile.

Wrong in both ways.. cost is lower and savings are higher. Article quotes $750k for winglets and installation and savings around 5%.


Aviation Partners wins STC for 757 winglets: AINonline

I think 5 % is the real figure and beside fuel it makes doing AMS / DTW a bit more comfortable.

So I rolls in behind this Buttburg Eagle you see, flip to his freq and tell him to "pull that boat into the wind, I'm comin' aboard". Then I land between the twin fins and jump out of my Viper with my canopy breaker tool between my teeth like a modern day pirate and I chip a hole in his canopy, steal his wallet and make him sign a confession that he has AIDS and has ever since he left Kadena. I head back to the O'club bar at the home drome only to find out that all the others Viper guys have the same story. So I open his wallet to find there's no money, just some wallet sized Olin Mills portraits of him and some Chippindale dancer! So I order a Bitburger Pils and pay for it my own damn self. End of true (slightly modified) story!

The pay back is reportedly 3 yrs but that was published with yesterday's fuel prices and also based on x utilization.

Interesting talking to those guys at AvPartners. They said when they began, no one wanted to talk to them because they didn't believe the possible numbers. After they proved their numbers, things changed. One comment from one of their engineers was 'there are a lot of 'pretend-lets' out there.. more marketing than the real thing." You don't just slap on a 'end-plate' (original name back in the late 1800s/early 1900s) and expect it to work.

Now that's funny!

Hmmm, they've been around a ling time! I guess they had to wait a few decades before a plane was invented then built that could use their winglets! :D

Meaning that YOU were the actual owner of the wallet? ;)