ABSTRACT
With the projected air traffic growth, aviation fuel needs will grow by 3% globally per year. Considering this, aviation industry has set ambitious goals to enhance its fuel efficiency. This study presents an integrated framework for aviation fuel consumption reduction, which will also limit its CO2 emissions. Further, this research aims to categorize influential factors and examine their relative importance for fuel-efficient aviation. This study’s theoretical framework combines and reconciles eight major areas: alternative jet fuels, aviation infrastructure, aircraft operations, socio-ecopolitical environment, aircraft design, technology, environmental uncertainty, and strategic changes. In all, 37 sub-factors were identified. The priority ratings of these sub-factors with respect to ‘aviation fuel consumption reduction’ objective is measured by hybrid analytical hierarchy process-entropy method, using pair-wise comparison matrices. The findings attributed the highest importance to ‘technological innovations’, followed by ‘aircraft design’ and ‘aircraft operations’ for saving aviation fuel. Based on the obtained ranking ‘engine design’, ‘laminar flow technology’, and ‘air traffic management technology’ emerged as the three most important sub-factors. The robustness of priority rankings has been tested using sensitivity analysis. This study shows the path for continuous improvement in aviation fuel efficiency by directing efforts and investments on highly important factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ACRP (2013) Apron planning administration and design guidebook. Transportation Research Board, 96. http://www.trb.org
Agarwal R (2009) Sustainable (green) aviation: challenges and opportunities. SAE Int J Aerosp 2(1):1–20. https://doi.org/10.4271/2009-01-3085
Al-Aomar R (2010) A combined ahp-entropy method for deriving subjective and objective criteria weights. Int J Ind Eng: Theory Appl Pract 17(1):12–24
Arushi, Drews S (2011) Aviation and environment. Working paper (Online). Centre for science and environment. Available at: http://cseindia.org/userfiles/aviation_paper.pdf (Accessed 15 Feb 2018)
ATAG (2011). Beginner’s guide to aviation biofuels. (online) Air transport action group. Retrieved from: http://www.safug.org/assets/docs/beginners-guide-to-aviation-biofuels.pdf (Accessed 15 Feb 2018)
ATAG (2013) Revolutionising air traffic management. Air Transport Action Group, Switzerland. Retrieved from https://www.atag.org/component/attachments/attachments.html?id=229. (Accessed 11 Aug 2018)
Bai L, Wang H, Huang N, Du Q, Huang Y (2018) An environmental management maturity model of construction programs using the AHP-entropy approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15(7):1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071317
Balicki W, Glowacki P, Szczecinski S, Chachurski R, Szczecinski J (2014) Effect of the atmosphere on the performances of aviation turbine engines. Acta Mech Autom 8(2):70–73. https://doi.org/10.2478/ama-2014-0012
Blakey S, Rye L, Wilson C (2011) Aviation gas turbine alternative fuels: a review. Proc Combust Inst 33(2):2863–2885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2010.09.011
Boeing (2017) Current market outlook 2017–2036. Market analysis, Boeing commercial airplanes, Seattle. http://www.boeing.com/resources/boeingdotcom/commercial/market/current-market-outlook-2017/assets/downloads/2017-cmo-6-19.pdf (Accessed 05 Mar 2018)
Brueckner J, Abreu C (2017) Airline fuel usage and carbon emissions: determining factors. J Air Transp Manag 62:10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2017.01.004
Cansino J, Román R (2017) Energy efficiency improvements in air traffic: the case of airbus A320 in Spain. Energy Policy 101:109–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.11.027
Chai J, Yang Y, Lai KK, Lu Q, Xing L, Liang T, Wang S (2017) Green transportation and energy consumption in China. Routledge, Abingdon
Chamness K, Ohsfeldt M, Berkeley E (2010) ASPIRE—reducing emissions by promoting best practices in the Asia pacific region. J Aviat Manag 7(1):41–47
Chuang PT (2001) Deployment for a location decision from a requirement perspective. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 18(11):842–849
Chuansheng X, Dapeng D, Shengping H, Xin X, Yingjie C (2012) Safety evaluation of smart grid based on AHP-entropy method. Syst Eng Procedia 4:203–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sepro.2011.11.067
Cleave D (2009). Green air space design: reducing fuel burn. The MITRE Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.mitre.org/publications/project-stories/green-air-space-design-reducing-fuel-burn (Accessed 7 Feb 2018)
Crowe TJ, Noble SJ, Machimada SJ (1998) Multi-attribute analysis of ISO 9001 registration using AHP. Int J Qual Reliab Manag 15(2):205–222
De Poret M, O’Connell J, Warnock-Smith D (2015) The economic viability of long-haul low cost operations: evidence from the transatlantic market. J Air Transp Manag 42:272–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2014.11.007
Delgado L, Prats X (2014) Operating cost-based cruise speed reduction for ground delay programs: effect of scope length. Transp Res Part C Emerg Technol 48:437–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2014.09.015
Dijkstra T (2013) On the extraction of weights from pairwise comparison matrices. CEJOR 21(1):103–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10100-011-0212-9
Drake J (1974) Social, political and economic constraints on airline fuel optimization. Transp Res 8(4–5):443–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-1647(74)90064-1
Drake P (1998) Using the analytic hierarchy process in engineering education. Int J Eng 14(3):191–196
Eshtaiwi M, Badi I, Abdulshahed A, Erkan T (2018) Determination of key performance indicators for measuring airport success: a case study in Libya. J Air Trans Manag 68:28–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2017.12.004
Evans JE, Weber ME, Moser WR (2006) Integrating advanced weather forecast technologies into air traffic management decision support. Lincoln Lab J 16(1):81
Gardi A, Sabatini R, Ramasamy S, Kistan T (2014) Real-time trajectory optimisation models for next generation air traffic management systems. AMM 629:327–332. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.629.327
Gogas M, Adamos G, Nathanail E (2017) Assessing the performance of intermodal city logistics terminals in Thessaloniki. Trans Res Procedia 24:17–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.061
Gorenkov A, Seregin E, Klyuiko I, Domkin E (1980) Expansion of fuel resources and saving of fuel for aircraft gas turbine engines. Chem Technol Fuels Oils 16(11):712–715. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00745458
Grote M, Williams I, Preston J (2014) Direct carbon dioxide emissions from civil aircraft. Atmos Environ 95:214–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.06.042
Hileman J, De la Rosa Blanco E, Bonnefoy P, Carter N (2013) The carbon dioxide challenge facing aviation. Prog Aerosp Sci 63:84–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2013.07.003
Hunter D, Martinussen M, Wiggins M, O’Hare D (2011) Situational and personal characteristics associated with adverse weather encounters by pilots. Accid Anal Prev 43(1):176–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.08.007
IATA (2013). IATA Technology Roadmap (Online). International Air Transport Association. Retrieved from: https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/environment/Documents/technology-roadmap-2013.pdf (Accessed 18 Feb 2018)
IATA (2018) (Online). Retrieved from: http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/ops-infra/Pages/fuel-efficiency.aspx (Accessed 19 Feb 2018)
Ivanco M, Hou G, Michaeli J (2017) Sensitivity analysis method to address user disparities in the analytic hierarchy process. Expert Syst Appl 90:111–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2017.08.003
Jaeger W, Egelkraut T (2011) Biofuel Economics in a setting of multiple objectives and unintended consequences. SSRN Electron J. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1865175
Janic M (2016) Analyzing, modeling, and assessing the performances of land use by airports. Int J Sustain Trans 10(8):683–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2015.1104566
Kamaruzzaman S, Lou E, Wong P, Wood R, Che-Ani A (2018) Developing weighting system for refurbishment building assessment scheme in Malaysia through analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. Energy Policy 112:280–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.10.023
Kamfiroozi MH, Naeini AB (2014) An ERP selection combination model under uncertainty: A Grey-BSC-AHP-Entropy model. Int J Res Ind Eng 3(3):13
Khandelwal B, Karakurt A, Sekaran P, Sethi V, Singh R (2013) Hydrogen powered aircraft: the future of air transport. Prog Aerosp Sci 60:45–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2012.12.002
Koetse M, Rietveld P (2009) The impact of climate change and weather on transport: an overview of empirical findings. Trans Res Part D Trans Environ 14(3):205–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2008.12.004
Kruger W, Klimmek T, Liepelt R, Schmidt H, Waitz S, Cumnuantip S (2014) Design and aeroelastic assessment of a forward-swept wing aircraft. CEAS Aeronaut J 5(4):419–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-014-0117-0
Kulesa G (2003) Weather and aviation: How does weather affect the safety and operations of airports and aviation, and how does FAA work to manage weather-related effects? In the potential impacts of climate change on transportation. Retrieved from: https://trid.trb.org/view/663829 (Accessed 6 Feb 2018)
Lawrence P (2009) Meeting the challenge of aviation emissions: an aircraft industry perspective. Technol Anal Strategy Manag 21(1):79–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320802557327
Lee J (2010) Can we accelerate the improvement of energy efficiency in aircraft systems? Energy Convers Manag 51(1):189–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2009.09.011
Lee J, Mo J (2011) Analysis of technological innovation and environmental performance improvement in aviation sector. Int J Environ Res Public Health 8(9):3777–3795. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8093777
Lewis W, Fai Pun K, Lalla T (2006) Empirical investigation of the hard and soft criteria of TQM in ISO 9001 certified small and medium-sized enterprises. Int J Qual Reliab Manag 23(8):964–985. https://doi.org/10.1108/02656710610688167
Liebeck R (2004) Design of the blended wing body subsonic transport. J Aircr 41(1):10–25. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.9084
McManners P (2016) Developing policy integrating sustainability: a case study into aviation. Environ Sci Policy 57:86–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.11.016
Meric O, Turan O (2016) Evaluation of aircraft descent profile. Energy Procedia 95:308–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2016.09.011
Morrell P, Lu C (2007) The environmental cost implication of hub–hub versus hub by-pass flight networks. Trans Res Part D Trans Environ 12(3):143–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2007.01.008
Müller C, Kieckhäfer K, Spengler T (2018) The influence of emission thresholds and retrofit options on airline fleet planning: an optimization approach. Energy Policy 112:242–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.10.022
Nava-Gaxiola C, Barrado C (2016) Performance measures of the SESAR Southwest functional airspace block. J Air Trans Manag 50:21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2015.09.003
Nickol C (2012) Technologies and concepts for reducing the fuel burn of subsonic transport aircraft (online). NATO AVT-209 workshop on energy efficient technologies; 22–24 Oct. 2012. Lisbon, Portugal. Available at: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=2012001 6006 (Accessed 15 Feb 2018)
Nikoleris T, Gupta G, Kistler M (2011) Detailed estimation of fuel consumption and emissions during aircraft taxi operations at Dallas/Fort worth international airport. Trans Res Part D Trans Environ 16(4):302–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2011.01.007
Park Y, O’Kelly M (2014) Fuel burn rates of commercial passenger aircraft: variations by seat configuration and stage distance. J Transp Geogr 41:137–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2014.08.017
Parker R (2009) From blue skies to green skies: engine technology to reduce the climate-change impacts of aviation. Technol Anal Strategy Manag 21(1):61–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320802557301
Rao K, Selladurai V, Saravanan R (2009) TRIZ tool for optimization of airport runway. IFIP Adv Inf Commun Technol. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03346-9_9
Reynolds T (2014) Air traffic management performance assessment using flight inefficiency metrics. Transp Policy 34:63–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2014.02.019
Reynolds TG (2015) Green aircraft operations. Encycl Aerosp Eng 1–12
Risse K, Stumpf E (2014) Conceptual aircraft design with hybrid laminar flow control. CEAS Aeronaut J 5(3):333–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-014-0111-6
Roy S, Pattnaik P, Mall R (2017) Quality assurance of academic websites using usability testing: an experimental study with AHP. Int J Syst Assur Eng Manag 8(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13198-016-0436-0
Ryerson M, Hansen M, Bonn J (2011). Fuel consumption and operational performance. In: 9th USA/Europe air traffic management research and development seminar (ATM2011), Berlin. http://atmseminar.org/seminarContent/seminar9/papers/72-Ryerson-Final-Paper-4-14-11.pdf
Ryley T, Davison L, Bristow A, Pridmore A (2010) Public engagement on aviation taxes in the United Kingdom. Int J Sustain Trans 4(2):112–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568310802471735
Saaty TL (1988) The analytic hierarchy process. Pergamon Press, New York
Saaty TL (2000) Fundamental of decision making and priority theory with the analytic hierarchy process. RWS Publ, Pittsburgh
Sarkar A (2012) Evolving green aviation transport system: a hoilistic approah to sustainable green market development. AJCC 01(03):164–180. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajcc.2012.13014
Schäfer A, Evans A, Reynolds T, Dray L (2015) Costs of mitigating CO2 emissions from passenger aircraft. Nat Clim Change 6(4):412–417. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2865
Schlumberger, Charles E (2012) Air transport and energy efficiency. Transport papers, World Bank Group; Washington DC. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/02/16226814/air-transport-energy-efficiency [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018]
Sgouridis S, Bonnefoy P, Hansman R (2011) Air transportation in a carbon constrained world: long-term dynamics of policies and strategies for mitigating the carbon footprint of commercial aviation. Trans Res Part A Policy Pract 45(10):1077–1091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2010.03.019
Simanaviciene R, Ustinovichius L (2010) Sensitivity analysis for multiple criteria decision making methods: TOPSIS and SAW. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 2(6):7743–7744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.05.207
Singh J, Sharma SK, Srivastava R (2018) Managing fuel efficiency in the aviation sector: challenges. Accomp Oppor FIIB Bus Rev 7(4):244–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/2319714518814073
Spirkovska L, Lodha S (2002) AWE: aviation weather data visualization environment. Comput Gr 26(1):169–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0097-8493(01)00187-x
Staples M, Malina R, Suresh P, Hileman J, Barrett S (2018) Aviation CO2 emissions reductions from the use of alternative jet fuels. Energy Policy 114:342–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.12.007
Talib F, Rahman Z, Qureshi M (2011) Prioritising the practices of total quality management: an analytic hierarchy process analysis for the service industries. Total Qual Manag Bus Excell 22(12):1331–1351. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2011.625192
Turgut E, Rosen M (2012) Relationship between fuel consumption and altitude for commercial aircraft during descent: preliminary assessment with a genetic algorithm. Aerosp Sci Technol 17(1):65–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2011.03.007
Vaaben B, Larsen J (2015) Mitigation of airspace congestion impact on airline networks. J Air Trans Manag 47:54–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2015.04.002
Walsh M, Sellers W III, Mcginley C (1989) Riblet drag at flight conditions. J Aircr 26(6):570–575. https://doi.org/10.2514/3.45804
Wang T (2014) The research of electronic banking risk evaluation based on comprehensive assessment AHP-Entropy. Int J u- e-Service, Sci Tech 7(6):413–422. https://doi.org/10.14257/ijunesst.2014.7.6.36
Wu G, Duan K, Zuo J, Zhao X, Tang D (2017) Integrated sustainability assessment of public rental housing community based on a hybrid method of AHP-Entropy weight and cloud model. Sustainability 9(4):603. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040603
Yadav V, Sharma M (2016) Multi-criterion supplier selection model using the analytic hierarchy process approach. J Modell Manag 11(1):326–354. https://doi.org/10.1108/jm2-06-2014-0052
Yilmaz N, Atmanli A (2017) Sustainable alternative fuels in aviation. Energy 140:1378–1386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.07.077
Zhao H, Zhang N, Guan Y (2018) Safety assessment model for dangerous goods transport by air carrier. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051306
Zhong HW (2000) AHP method on the weight of entropy and it’s application in ship investment decision making. J Shanghai Marit Univ 1:014
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, J., Sharma, S.K. & Srivastava, R. AHP-Entropy based priority assessment of factors to reduce aviation fuel consumption. Int J Syst Assur Eng Manag 10, 212–227 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13198-019-00758-0
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13198-019-00758-0