United Airlines saves 170,000 gallons of fuel by using lighter paper on inflight magazine

Authored by latimes.com and submitted by psyche_explorer
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What difference can an ounce make on an airplane?

If you are United Airlines, with 4,500 flights a day, an ounce can add up. The Chicago-based carrier said it recently began printing its inflight magazine, Hemisphere, on lighter paper, cutting 1 ounce from each magazine. It now weighs 6.85 ounces.

In an internal message to employees, United said it has also switched to lighter paper on its seatback service guides.

The carrier operates 744 mainline planes that vary in size, carrying 50 to 366 passengers each. For a typical 737 plane carrying 179 passengers, the reduction would mean about 11 pounds per flight.

The airline said that slight weight reduction is saving 170,000 gallons of fuel a year, or $290,000 in annual fuel costs.

Last year, United stopped on-board sales of duty-free items — such as perfumes, chocolates and liquor — cutting 1.4 million gallons of fuel a year at a cost savings of $2.3 million.

CAPTION A couple in Perris beat, strangled and shackled their children for years, the abuse escalating from neglect to torture over time, prosecutors said Thursday. Daca has been at the center of talks between Democrats and Republicans to avert a government shutdown this Friday. Feinstein broke with privacy advocates from the right and left to cast a crucial vote in favor of leaving the program largely unchanged for the next six years. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with operating a large-scale drug trafficking operation. The iconic Hollywood sign has become a frustration for Hollywood Hills neighbors who complain that a crush of visitors has clogged their residential streets. Ed Moses, a painter who helped forge Los Angeles' art scene, died Thursday at 91. A couple in Perris beat, strangled and shackled their children for years, the abuse escalating from neglect to torture over time, prosecutors said Thursday. Daca has been at the center of talks between Democrats and Republicans to avert a government shutdown this Friday. Feinstein broke with privacy advocates from the right and left to cast a crucial vote in favor of leaving the program largely unchanged for the next six years. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with operating a large-scale drug trafficking operation. The iconic Hollywood sign has become a frustration for Hollywood Hills neighbors who complain that a crush of visitors has clogged their residential streets. Ed Moses, a painter who helped forge Los Angeles' art scene, died Thursday at 91. CAPTION A couple in Perris beat, strangled and shackled their children for years, the abuse escalating from neglect to torture over time, prosecutors said Thursday. Daca has been at the center of talks between Democrats and Republicans to avert a government shutdown this Friday. Feinstein broke with privacy advocates from the right and left to cast a crucial vote in favor of leaving the program largely unchanged for the next six years. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with operating a large-scale drug trafficking operation. The iconic Hollywood sign has become a frustration for Hollywood Hills neighbors who complain that a crush of visitors has clogged their residential streets. Ed Moses, a painter who helped forge Los Angeles' art scene, died Thursday at 91. A couple in Perris beat, strangled and shackled their children for years, the abuse escalating from neglect to torture over time, prosecutors said Thursday. Daca has been at the center of talks between Democrats and Republicans to avert a government shutdown this Friday. Feinstein broke with privacy advocates from the right and left to cast a crucial vote in favor of leaving the program largely unchanged for the next six years. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with operating a large-scale drug trafficking operation. The iconic Hollywood sign has become a frustration for Hollywood Hills neighbors who complain that a crush of visitors has clogged their residential streets. Ed Moses, a painter who helped forge Los Angeles' art scene, died Thursday at 91. CAPTION A couple in Perris beat, strangled and shackled their children for years, the abuse escalating from neglect to torture over time, prosecutors said Thursday. A couple in Perris beat, strangled and shackled their children for years, the abuse escalating from neglect to torture over time, prosecutors said Thursday. CAPTION Ed Moses, a painter who helped forge Los Angeles' art scene, died Thursday at 91. Ed Moses, a painter who helped forge Los Angeles' art scene, died Thursday at 91. CAPTION Feinstein broke with privacy advocates from the right and left to cast a crucial vote in favor of leaving the program largely unchanged for the next six years. Feinstein broke with privacy advocates from the right and left to cast a crucial vote in favor of leaving the program largely unchanged for the next six years. CAPTION The iconic Hollywood sign has become a frustration for Hollywood Hills neighbors who complain that a crush of visitors has clogged their residential streets. The iconic Hollywood sign has become a frustration for Hollywood Hills neighbors who complain that a crush of visitors has clogged their residential streets.

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dylan2451 on January 20th, 2018 at 22:04 UTC »

The magazines used to weigh 7.85 ounces, now it weighs 6.85 ounces. They have 744 planes that can carry between 50 to 366 passengers each, and have 4,500 flights a day. The change saves 11 pounds on just one 737 flight with 179 passages. The 170,000 gallons of fuel comes out to $290,000, and is per year.

I'd be lying if I didn't immediately think of how much fuel they would save if the average customer lost 5 lbs, or more.

FourthWiseMonkey on January 20th, 2018 at 21:29 UTC »

Think how much fuel United can save, if they remove all the passengers.

Silvergirl7 on January 20th, 2018 at 21:23 UTC »

Dump the idiotic magazine altogether!