Page 99 - Planning and Design of Airports

Air craft Characteristics Related to Airport Design 69

3.00

2.50
2.00
$ per gallon 1.50

1.00
0.50

0.00
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Month
FIGURE 2-6 Jet fuel prices, 1986 to 2007 (BTS, ATA).

design, aircraft operators are placing increasing effort into minimiz-
ing aircraft operating time at airports, including searching for
shorter taxi times between aircraft parking areas and runways, turn-
around times at gate areas, and operating in areas where there is
reduced congestion in the local airspace.
Recent increases in fuel costs, combined with the efforts of air car-
riers to reduce other operating expenses, have resulted in fuel being
the greatest expense to most air carriers. The historical trends in and
the projections for the price of oil and the price of jet fuel for U.S.
airlines are shown in Fig. 2-6. The cost of jet fuel per gallon had
increased from less than $0.50 in 1987 to nearly $3.50 in 2008 before
decreasing to approximately $1.00 per gallon by the end of 2008
(source: BTS, ATA), further motivating the aircraft industry to engi-
neer more efficient engine propulsion and aircraft technologies and
for aircraft operators and airport planners to create environments
that allow for more efficient operations.

Atmospheric Conditions Affecting Aircraft Performance
Just as they vary in dimensional characteristics, the current fleet of
civil use aircraft varies widely in their respective abilities to fly at
certain speeds and altitudes over certain distances, the runway
lengths required to safely perform landing and takeoff operations, as
well as in the amount of noise emissions and energy consumption.
Many of these variations are not only functions of the aircraft them-
selves but in the varying environments at which they operate.
To fully understand the varying performance characteristics of
aircraft, it is necessary to understand certain elements the environ-
ment in which they operate.