As any of our readers who fly frequently will know, the hub-and-spoke model of air transport can be a real pain. For one thing, you often end up traveling hundreds of miles further than necessary (Seattle to DC via Dallas, anyone?), merrily polluting the skies with carbon emissions as you go. And equipment trouble or bad weather can cause cascading delays, adding to passengers' stress. Could in-flight refueling be our salvation? Apparently it's a feasible alternative, according to a European research project highlighted in Aviation Week.
The RECREATE study—REsearch on a CRuiser Enabled Air Transport Environment—was funded by the European Union and conducted by researchers spread across Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, and Switzerland. It was meant to come up with novel ideas for air transport that would reduce the amount of fuel and CO2 that currently result from long-distance air travel.
According to the study, using shorter-range (2,500-3,000 mile (4000-4800km)) 250-passenger jets, a single in-flight refueling during a 6,000 mile (9,650km) long-haul journey could reduce the weight of fuel by 20 percent (versus a two-flight journey over the same distance). That's because a plane flying a longer distance in a single leg has to carry more fuel as a percentage of its overall weight. What's more, this calculation takes into account the fuel needed by the tanker.
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