How much fuel does a plane consume?
That naturally depends on the type of aircraft, its weight and prevailing weather conditions. A four-engined passenger version Boeing 747, for example, cruising at 900 kilometres per hour, consumes around 15,500 litres of fuel an hour. On a flight from Bombay to London (4,469 miles), this adds up to around 95 tonnes or 1,20,000 litres of fuel. Nevertheless, planes are a very fuel-efficient means of transport. Fuel consumption on some routes work out at 1600 litres for every 100 kilometres. Divided among 330 passengers, that gives a per head consumption of just 4 litres per 100 kilometres. And that’s not counting the 20 tonnes or more of baggage and freight equivalent to a full truckload carried in the hold.In addition to the fuel requirement calculated for a specific flight, an extra ten to fifteen per cent is always taken on in reserve for unscheduled diversion or similar contingencies. Aside from increasing fuel efficiency, aircraft engineers are constantly seeking further improvemen
