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According to an article by The Guardian, scientists have proposed an interesting new approach to reducing commercial airplane fuel usage: flying planes in a goose-like formation to reduce drag. The article states they calculated that flying in a group across the United States could yield a reduction in fuel usage of the aircraft by about 15%. I find it surprising that such a large reduction in fuel usage can be achieved by a relatively low-tech modification to flight plans. No wing re-engineering, no replacing engines, no third-party companies and no demanding monetary investments from struggling airlines are necessary to enact this plan. What appeals to me about this idea is that the airlines are rewarded for their effort. If they all proactively cooperate to fly in groups, much fuel can be saved collectively in a way that can make air travel both cheaper and less harmful to the environment. When looking at possible downsides to this idea, there are few to be found. If one flight gets delayed in a flight group, the it can continue alone without affecting the other planes and with the only downside being that it consumes fuel at its normal, slightly elevated rate. In addition, adding additional airplanes to a group on short notice, such as a cargo plane, could be done rather easily. While flight length could potentially be increased due to the necessity of coordinating multiple flights, I foresee this technique being used mainly on longer flights so that a pre-planned extra half-hour or so of extra flight time would not be noticed. A final concern is that flying aircraft in formation presents the risk of collision. Fortunately, no Blue Angels pilots are necessary; even flying the planes in a loose formation provides some increase in efficiency. If adverse conditions appear, such as a storm, the flight group can react accordingly and disband. Overall, I support this idea and find its most attractive point to be its simplicity. It is easy to implement and I predict that testing such an idea with real flights can be done within the next year.
