Southwest Airlines Engine Washing
Southwest Airlines Co. has signed a multiyear agreement to use an environmentally friendly engine-washing system in an effort to save on fuel and cut carbon emissions.
The Dallas-based carrier is using the EcoPower system offered by East Hartford, Conn.-based flight technology firm Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Pratt & Whitney said Southwest’s annual fuel-cost savings could exceed $20 million. The airline also stands to cut 135 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually as a result.
The arrangement with Pratt & Whitney comes as Southwest, along with the rest of the airline industry, faces record-high fuel prices that have led many to trim capacity and levy fees on travelers. Southwest in the first quarter reported a 63 percent drop in profit to $34 million, partially driven by a 34 percent hike in fuel and oil costs compared with the same period of 2007.
Southwest said it is performing regular washes at airports in Orlando, Fla., and Oakland, Calif., where Pratt & Whitney has established new service centers. The EcoPower equipment uses a closed-loop system with atomized water to wash aircraft engines, avoiding contaminant runoff, Pratt & Whitney said. The patented system is considered more effective and faster than traditional engine-washing processes.
Pratt & Whitney parent United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) employs more than 225,000 worldwide and in 2007 recorded $4.22 billion in profit on $54.8 billion in revenue.
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Jet engines …
Jet engines fascinate me to no end. I would love to really observe them up close and find out all the details of how they work.
Yep. Look at how a …
Yep. Look at how a lot of airlines folded because of lucrative maintenance practices. For example, ValuJet was almost forced to close its doors because of the crash in the Everglades, but since they bought out AirTran, they’re still ValuJet under the AirTran name. Their maintenance is not done in-house. It’s all outsourced, to keep their costs down, AND to shift the blame elsewhere whenever something goes wrong.
hawktb9, you’re …
hawktb9, you’re right. What do you think are the implications for the future of airline safety? Should we expect an increase in incidents? Like my political science professor used to say, “Nothing ever just happens…There’s always a series of events that leads up to the main event…” The same is true of airline incidents, and the beginning could very well be lax maintenance log-keeping.
A lot of it has to …
A lot of it has to do with politics, my friend. The goings-on behind the scenes is what got a lot of airlines in trouble, and unfortunately, it’s all part of the business world. The FAA’s only doing its job of overseeing the practices of all airlines and their staff. The fines come when the inspectors find some glaring discrepancies in the paperwork, which is proof enough of under-the-table dealings. *shrug* That’s life, I guess.
That is a very …
That is a very interesting video!!
Actually, you could …
Actually, you could say the same about American Airlines and Delta. It looks normal. The FAA looks into actions by airlines, and Southwest is one.
very cool, what …
very cool, what stations do they do that at?
My apologies, I …
My apologies, I meant the FAA. If you log on to the FAA website and do a simple search, say, “Southwest Airlines”, a whole host of maintenance-related filings in the quarterly-enforcement reports come up. It’s pretty interesting. Just on Page 7, I counted six maintenance-related enforcement issues. I’m not sure about this, but is it normal for FAA to file so many claims against one airline in just one quarter?
The NTSB does not …
The NTSB does not fine airlines for lax maintenance. They’re only an advisory panel which cam only recommend procedures to both airlines and manufacturers regarding faults that led up to an accident after the investigation. In other words, NTSB is like the FBI; an investigative bureau. As for what recently happened, it was a freak incident that happened to the SWA plane. The cause is not from poor maintenance, though. SWA’s got a great maintenance program, and that alone says a lot for SWA.
Well, Hawktb9: …
Well, Hawktb9: apparently, SW is being fined up to $10.2 million by the NTSB for lax maintenance. This came up due to an incident where during a flight from Nashville to Baltimore at 34,000 feet, a foot-long rip in the fuselage caused rapid decompression that forced pilots to return the craft to the airport without injuries, thankfully. I am not an alarmist, and I’m sure that Southwest isn’t the only one, but airlines are in trouble. Maintenance issues are become more and more apparent.
mmmm,..jet engine …
mmmm,..jet engine soup, yummy!
I amit they have a …
I amit they have a few hiccups in customer service but comparitivly they are the best I’ve been with. I was in PHL on Us airways ons and they lost my lugage. The baggage agent told me to f*** off!
n787mx, That’s a …
n787mx, That’s a great safety record, indeed. However, I’m addressing the issue of customer service. I have flown Southwest twice, and I know that’s not many times, but in both instances, the service was poor. Two of my friends had similar experiences. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not only slamming SW, here, as I think poor customer service has become widespread throughout the industry. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to that: rising fuel costs, cutbacks, and so on.
1971-2009 only 1 …
1971-2009 only 1 crash related death?!? thats a pretty kick safety record If you ask me! And I would like you to find me a person who doesn’t like southwest anyway. My brother works for Delta and he can get me free flights yet I still choose to fly southwest!
ok Thats true, …
ok Thats true, service on domestice and even some interntional airlines has declined, but im saying that its not as bad as it used to be. One thing I am tired of is old or fat people being flight attendants. Only young pretty ladies should be doing that, like in the ’50s.
FutureMarine, come …
FutureMarine, come on now. You can’t tell me that in the past decade service on domestic airlines has declined precipitously. You can’t deny that, man. I can only speak as a commuter/customer. I’m telling you, customer from the check-in counter to the flight attendants was much better about 10 to 15 years ago.
I only fly …
I only fly southwest airlines on domestic flights. I’ve never had a problem with them.
dude you have no …
dude you have no clue what you are talking about, i have flown on many different airlines, and what you are saying is not true.
I really don’t see …
I really don’t see the big deal with Southwest Airlines. Frankly, they’re just like any other low-cost, low-customer appreciation, American airliner. It’s all about the money, and customer satisfaction’s out the window. In fact, the civilian airline industry is the only sector I know where we pay to be treated like scum, particularly in the U.S.
Does that list …
Does that list demonstrate best airlines in terms of passenger satisfaction or safety record?
people are ing …
people are ing ignorant. Southwest Airlines is not the best airline if they only fly locally in the US. How is that the best in the world? That is representing only minority of people of the world not representing it as a whole. To classify whether the airline is best or not, it has to at least fly outside of US internationally between countries from the east and west.
How the can people say Southwest has the best service when it is not rated by people outside of US? Ignorant.
Because there are …
Because there are international customers who have used Southwest airlines, while visiting the U.S., before and most likely voted them their best flying experience.
Well if you spot at …
Well if you spot at a huge itnernational airport (mine is KLAX) you see more than just southwest 737s but if you go to burbank (KBUR) all you’ll see is fedex and ups a300s, the occasional 757, small crj’s, alaska 737-900s, and a lot of southwest 737s but hey they are awesome planes always fun to watch
it dosent matter if …
it dosent matter if they fly around the world or just US and they do not go to canada or mexico they stay in the US
and they are the best beacase they have the best service for a good price and key word is good price they dont rip you off and also they have great pilots and they have a good safety record. Southwest also has the most flights per day of any airline
i do like flying …
i do like flying southwest. But I will admit I don’t like plane spotting them much. Southwest 737, southwest 737, southwest 737. oook I’ve had enough show me a DC9 or something lol