This has been no small task, and for some time now the carrier has been working towards a situation that would allow all its bigger aircraft to benefit from gate power within three minutes of arrival. When it is understood that 21 destinations are involved, it becomes clear that this has been a major undertaking.
By trimming off 30 minutes of onboard APU operation on a flight, Hawaiian estimates that savings of around 620,000 gallons of fuel per annum can be achieved; more than that, it should be able to cut CO2 emissions by almost 6,000 tonnes, which is roughly enough fuel to fly the airline’s wide-body fleet for a day.
It is understood that Hawaiian line service and ground crews have already met the three minute target on 92% of flights on average; and during the recent 100 Percent Day, a total of 47 wide-body flights received external power.
