Robust passenger traffic and booming freight traffic has led the Indian Railways sustaining its growth momentum in the current fiscal year (2008–09). Total earnings of the railways have increased by a whopping 19.85 per cent during the first two months of 2008-09.
Total earnings of the Indian railways on an originating basis during April–May 2008 have increased to Rs. 133.34 billion, as against Rs. 111.25 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Goods earnings accounted for the largest share of the total earnings, with a growth rate of 23.54 per cent, contributing Rs. 91.21 billion earnings, compared to Rs. 73.83 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Simultaneously, increase in passenger traffic has led to total passenger earnings of the Indian Railways rising by 12.28 per cent to Rs. 37.27 billion. Similarly, earnings from other coaching and total sundry earnings have increased to Rs. 3.57 billion and Rs. 1.27 billion respectively.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Rosebys set for India foray
Rosebys, the UK's largest home textile retail chain, which was acquired by Gujarat Heavy Chemicals in 2006, is set to foray into the domestic market this year with a slew of stores. Aimed to fill the gap between luxury and value segments, Rosebys will be positioned as a premium brand in the domestic organised home linen market.
The company plans to roll out the stores across the country. "We plan to open 700 stores over the next three years in metros and tier-2 and tier-3 cities," Nikhil Sen, director, Rosebys interiors India, told Business Standard.
Unlike its multi brand outlets in the UK, which are known as ‘Rosebys Interiors', the stores in India will be single brand stores under the name ‘Rosebys London' sporting a tagline - Inspiring your imagination. Apart from company owned stores, a major part of expansion will come through the franchisee route.
According to Sen, in India out of the Rs 15,000-crore home linen vertical, the organised sector accounts for only Rs 3,000 crore and is growing at an annual rate of 8-10 per cent, providing ample opportunity to a format like Rosebys.
Going by the new on-the-go culture in the country, the company is targeting working segment in the age group of 25-35 year in the country.
"We aim at providing affordable luxury for everyday lifestyle to people along with helping them save time and money and giving them a feel good environment. Our stores will be very approachable and will cultivate experiential buying in the country," Sen added.
Another growth opportunity the company has identified is gifting. "If something is good for you it is also good enough to be gifted and that change in psyche gives us a great opportunity," Sen said.
Like its stores in the UK, Rosebys India will provide complete home furnishings and lifestyle products from bedding, curtains to kitchen and children's room accessories.Rosebys, has over 320 stores across the UK and is one of the biggest home textile retail chain company in the UK.
While the major part of Rosebys products will be manufactured at GHCL's Vapi plant, the company also plans to source them from contract manufacturers in India and abroad.
The company plans to roll out the stores across the country. "We plan to open 700 stores over the next three years in metros and tier-2 and tier-3 cities," Nikhil Sen, director, Rosebys interiors India, told Business Standard.
Unlike its multi brand outlets in the UK, which are known as ‘Rosebys Interiors', the stores in India will be single brand stores under the name ‘Rosebys London' sporting a tagline - Inspiring your imagination. Apart from company owned stores, a major part of expansion will come through the franchisee route.
According to Sen, in India out of the Rs 15,000-crore home linen vertical, the organised sector accounts for only Rs 3,000 crore and is growing at an annual rate of 8-10 per cent, providing ample opportunity to a format like Rosebys.
Going by the new on-the-go culture in the country, the company is targeting working segment in the age group of 25-35 year in the country.
"We aim at providing affordable luxury for everyday lifestyle to people along with helping them save time and money and giving them a feel good environment. Our stores will be very approachable and will cultivate experiential buying in the country," Sen added.
Another growth opportunity the company has identified is gifting. "If something is good for you it is also good enough to be gifted and that change in psyche gives us a great opportunity," Sen said.
Like its stores in the UK, Rosebys India will provide complete home furnishings and lifestyle products from bedding, curtains to kitchen and children's room accessories.Rosebys, has over 320 stores across the UK and is one of the biggest home textile retail chain company in the UK.
While the major part of Rosebys products will be manufactured at GHCL's Vapi plant, the company also plans to source them from contract manufacturers in India and abroad.
India’s GDP growth may dip to 7%: World Bank
The World Bank has projected India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth to slow further to seven per cent in 2008 on account of the tight monetary policy in place as a measure to rein in inflation leading to a consequent slowdown in demand for industrial goods.
In its report on ‘Global Development Finance’ released on Tuesday, the World Bank said: “GDP growth in India eased to a still strong 8.7 per cent in 2007, from 9.7 per cent in 2006, and is projected to slow further to 7 per cent in 2008.” The Bank attributed the moderation in the country’s economic growth to the “monetary tightening in 2007 [that] led to softening in domestic demand.”
The report pointed out that although the restrictive monetary policy measures prevented a further surge in the inflationary spiral, the resultant strengthening of the rupee proved detrimental to the exporting community. With the country’s industrial production decelerating to three per cent in April this year, the report noted that there were growing signs of the economy cooling down. However, thanks mainly to the large remittance flows and robust growth in wage rates, the industrial slowdown has not led to a fall in the rate of consumption, it said.
Alongside, the report noted that owing to an overall slowdown affecting most economies, the global GDP growth is projected to slide from 3.7 per cent in 2007 to 2.7 per cent in 2008. Surge in food prices
Aggravating the situation was the worldwide surge in food prices in 2008 and there was a “sharp reduction in purchasing power of the poor,” owing to the increasing gap between wages and food prices. However, the report pointed to the export restrictions imposed by countries such as India, China and Vietnam as the major reason for the soaring global prices of food commodities.
“Among other factors, rice producers such as China, India and Vietnam have introduced export restrictions to keep stocks for domestic use and to prevent sharp domestic price increases; these policies have contributed to the increase in international grain prices,” the Bank said, while noting that “India is self-sufficient, but grain stocks are low and crop production has been on the decline”.
The report pointed out that soaring food prices had become a serious concern in South Asia by early 2008, mainly because food insecurity in the region was relatively high and the rural population have to spend over 50 per cent of their total income on food. It noted that the rapidly rising gap between food prices and wages indicated a sharp reduction in the purchasing power of the poor and the situation had become increasingly acute across the region, especially in Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Referring to the global turmoil in financial markets, the Bank noted that the turbulence had adversely affected the Indian stock market as well.
“The turmoil in international financial markets...has affected the region primarily through fallouts and weakness in equity market. The latter has been most pronounced in India, particularly during the first quarter,” the report said.
In its report on ‘Global Development Finance’ released on Tuesday, the World Bank said: “GDP growth in India eased to a still strong 8.7 per cent in 2007, from 9.7 per cent in 2006, and is projected to slow further to 7 per cent in 2008.” The Bank attributed the moderation in the country’s economic growth to the “monetary tightening in 2007 [that] led to softening in domestic demand.”
The report pointed out that although the restrictive monetary policy measures prevented a further surge in the inflationary spiral, the resultant strengthening of the rupee proved detrimental to the exporting community. With the country’s industrial production decelerating to three per cent in April this year, the report noted that there were growing signs of the economy cooling down. However, thanks mainly to the large remittance flows and robust growth in wage rates, the industrial slowdown has not led to a fall in the rate of consumption, it said.
Alongside, the report noted that owing to an overall slowdown affecting most economies, the global GDP growth is projected to slide from 3.7 per cent in 2007 to 2.7 per cent in 2008. Surge in food prices
Aggravating the situation was the worldwide surge in food prices in 2008 and there was a “sharp reduction in purchasing power of the poor,” owing to the increasing gap between wages and food prices. However, the report pointed to the export restrictions imposed by countries such as India, China and Vietnam as the major reason for the soaring global prices of food commodities.
“Among other factors, rice producers such as China, India and Vietnam have introduced export restrictions to keep stocks for domestic use and to prevent sharp domestic price increases; these policies have contributed to the increase in international grain prices,” the Bank said, while noting that “India is self-sufficient, but grain stocks are low and crop production has been on the decline”.
The report pointed out that soaring food prices had become a serious concern in South Asia by early 2008, mainly because food insecurity in the region was relatively high and the rural population have to spend over 50 per cent of their total income on food. It noted that the rapidly rising gap between food prices and wages indicated a sharp reduction in the purchasing power of the poor and the situation had become increasingly acute across the region, especially in Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Referring to the global turmoil in financial markets, the Bank noted that the turbulence had adversely affected the Indian stock market as well.
“The turmoil in international financial markets...has affected the region primarily through fallouts and weakness in equity market. The latter has been most pronounced in India, particularly during the first quarter,” the report said.
MARKET PREDICTION
GLOBAL MARKET ARE IN MIXED...
CRUDE CORRECTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO $131(APRX)
$ VS INR 42.94 GOOD FOR IT AND PHARMA STOCKS..
NIFTY IS WITNESSING HEAVY SELLING BECAUSE OF FIIs SELLING PRESSURE SINCE LAST FEW SESSION. EVERY HIGH IS WITNESSING SELLING PRESSURE AND IT PUSHING THE MARKET DOWN.
TODAY'S LEVEL OF NIFTY 4400-4500-4535 GO LONG IF MARKET HOLDS 4400 WITH SL OF 4370
SECTORS:
PHARMA AND IT @ 4500 LEVEL
ABOVE 4500 LEVEL GO LONG IN CONSTRUCTION AND BANKING .
TOTAL MARKET OI IS 74K CR AND PUT CALL RATIO IS 1.48%.
HAVE A NICE TRADING DAY.
-MR SAM
CRUDE CORRECTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO $131(APRX)
$ VS INR 42.94 GOOD FOR IT AND PHARMA STOCKS..
NIFTY IS WITNESSING HEAVY SELLING BECAUSE OF FIIs SELLING PRESSURE SINCE LAST FEW SESSION. EVERY HIGH IS WITNESSING SELLING PRESSURE AND IT PUSHING THE MARKET DOWN.
TODAY'S LEVEL OF NIFTY 4400-4500-4535 GO LONG IF MARKET HOLDS 4400 WITH SL OF 4370
SECTORS:
PHARMA AND IT @ 4500 LEVEL
ABOVE 4500 LEVEL GO LONG IN CONSTRUCTION AND BANKING .
TOTAL MARKET OI IS 74K CR AND PUT CALL RATIO IS 1.48%.
HAVE A NICE TRADING DAY.
-MR SAM
Apple Aims for the Masses With a Cheaper iPhone
Steven P. Jobs, chief executive of Apple, introduced a new cheaper iPhone model on Monday that navigates the Internet more quickly, expanded its distribution overseas and displayed a range of new applications and services in order to establish Apple as a major player in the cellphone industry.
Apple, the maker of consumer electronics and computer equipment, had set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would establish it as one of the major smartphone makers in the less than two years since it began shipping the original iPhone. Apple has sold six million phones globally since its introduction.
Analysts said that Mr. Jobs, one of the world’s best product marketers, had largely accomplished what he set out to do and they welcomed the moves he outlined in a presentation before software developers on Monday.
“This is the phone that has changed phones forever,” Mr. Jobs said.
Mr. Jobs said the new iPhone 3G, to be available in the United States through AT&T beginning on July 11, will sell for $199 for the 8-gigabyte model and $299 for a 16-gigabyte model. He said the biggest barrier to people buying the phone had been price.
Analysts and industry executives said they believed the lower prices would bring in new consumers who had been put off by its $399 price. “The price is clearly correct,” said Mike McGuire, a research vice president at Gartner, a market research firm based in San Jose, Calif.
As widely anticipated, the phone will run on so-called 3G wireless networks that allow much faster Internet connections than the original iPhone. During a 110-minute presentation, Mr. Jobs went to some lengths to compare the speed of the new iPhone 3G to the current phone and to rival phones like the Nokia N95 and the Palm Treo 750. He called downloads “amazingly zippy.”
The phone, sleeker than the original, will also have built-in Global Positioning System capability to allow location-based services. It will also have a longer battery life in some cases, five hours for talking on the 3G network and 24 hours for playing music on the phone.
The announcements came on the opening day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where several developers showed off software that turned the iPhone into a game console and a musical instrument. Others demonstrated programs that used the phone’s ability to locate its users on a map.
At one point during his demonstration, Mr. Jobs showed a tracking feature making it possible to watch on a Google map as an iPhone user drove down Lombard Street, the twisty tourist attraction in San Francisco.
Mr. Jobs also indirectly challenged Microsoft with a mobile Web service call MobileMe, intended to permit a user to synchronize a phone, calendar and contact information on the iPhone and multiple devices including PCs and other iPhones. The service, which will costs $99 a year and comes with 20 gigabytes of data storage, is similar to a service offered by Microsoft.
Apple’s obstacle in offering the new service is that its competitors, like Google, offer similar services for less. Google offers 10 gigabytes of e-mail storage for $20 a year.
Apple announced that it would begin selling the iPhone in 70 countries this summer; the current phone is being sold in six countries.
“Given the feature set, ecosystem partners, launch countries and the pricing of the iPhone, they are likely to hit the 10 million mark by September-October,” said Chetan Sharma, an independent consultant on the wireless data communications industry.
The company, based in Cupertino, Calif., announced on Monday in a regulatory filing that it would sell the 3G phones under different business arrangements in the United States. In the past, Apple shared service plan revenue with AT&T and other cellular firms. The second-generation iPhone will be sold without the recurring revenue streams and without the exclusivity arrangements it was previously able to command.
While trying to convince cellular carriers around the world that they should carry the iPhone, Apple realized that it needed to change the financial deal that it had with the carriers in the first six countries.
“We’ve changed our business model, from getting a cut of the future revenues to just a more traditional model,” Mr. Jobs said in an interview on Monday. “That’s enabled us to roll out around the world much faster.”
AT&T said it would subsidize the phones to attract consumers. Under the plan, unlimited iPhone 3G data plans for consumers will be available for $30 a month, in addition to voice plans starting at $40. Business users will be charged $45 a month for data.
By giving back the revenue to the carriers, which they may use for subsidies, Apple is hoping to dramatically increase its volume, as well as sell more Macintosh computers to iPhone users.
“It’s not about the iPhone,” said Charles Wolf, a financial analyst at Needham & Company. “There’s a tradeoff that Apple is making. The iPhone halo effect will be far more powerful than the iPod halo effect was. It’s going to stimulate Mac sales among iPhone users.”
Apple, the maker of consumer electronics and computer equipment, had set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would establish it as one of the major smartphone makers in the less than two years since it began shipping the original iPhone. Apple has sold six million phones globally since its introduction.
Analysts said that Mr. Jobs, one of the world’s best product marketers, had largely accomplished what he set out to do and they welcomed the moves he outlined in a presentation before software developers on Monday.
“This is the phone that has changed phones forever,” Mr. Jobs said.
Mr. Jobs said the new iPhone 3G, to be available in the United States through AT&T beginning on July 11, will sell for $199 for the 8-gigabyte model and $299 for a 16-gigabyte model. He said the biggest barrier to people buying the phone had been price.
Analysts and industry executives said they believed the lower prices would bring in new consumers who had been put off by its $399 price. “The price is clearly correct,” said Mike McGuire, a research vice president at Gartner, a market research firm based in San Jose, Calif.
As widely anticipated, the phone will run on so-called 3G wireless networks that allow much faster Internet connections than the original iPhone. During a 110-minute presentation, Mr. Jobs went to some lengths to compare the speed of the new iPhone 3G to the current phone and to rival phones like the Nokia N95 and the Palm Treo 750. He called downloads “amazingly zippy.”
The phone, sleeker than the original, will also have built-in Global Positioning System capability to allow location-based services. It will also have a longer battery life in some cases, five hours for talking on the 3G network and 24 hours for playing music on the phone.
The announcements came on the opening day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where several developers showed off software that turned the iPhone into a game console and a musical instrument. Others demonstrated programs that used the phone’s ability to locate its users on a map.
At one point during his demonstration, Mr. Jobs showed a tracking feature making it possible to watch on a Google map as an iPhone user drove down Lombard Street, the twisty tourist attraction in San Francisco.
Mr. Jobs also indirectly challenged Microsoft with a mobile Web service call MobileMe, intended to permit a user to synchronize a phone, calendar and contact information on the iPhone and multiple devices including PCs and other iPhones. The service, which will costs $99 a year and comes with 20 gigabytes of data storage, is similar to a service offered by Microsoft.
Apple’s obstacle in offering the new service is that its competitors, like Google, offer similar services for less. Google offers 10 gigabytes of e-mail storage for $20 a year.
Apple announced that it would begin selling the iPhone in 70 countries this summer; the current phone is being sold in six countries.
“Given the feature set, ecosystem partners, launch countries and the pricing of the iPhone, they are likely to hit the 10 million mark by September-October,” said Chetan Sharma, an independent consultant on the wireless data communications industry.
The company, based in Cupertino, Calif., announced on Monday in a regulatory filing that it would sell the 3G phones under different business arrangements in the United States. In the past, Apple shared service plan revenue with AT&T and other cellular firms. The second-generation iPhone will be sold without the recurring revenue streams and without the exclusivity arrangements it was previously able to command.
While trying to convince cellular carriers around the world that they should carry the iPhone, Apple realized that it needed to change the financial deal that it had with the carriers in the first six countries.
“We’ve changed our business model, from getting a cut of the future revenues to just a more traditional model,” Mr. Jobs said in an interview on Monday. “That’s enabled us to roll out around the world much faster.”
AT&T said it would subsidize the phones to attract consumers. Under the plan, unlimited iPhone 3G data plans for consumers will be available for $30 a month, in addition to voice plans starting at $40. Business users will be charged $45 a month for data.
By giving back the revenue to the carriers, which they may use for subsidies, Apple is hoping to dramatically increase its volume, as well as sell more Macintosh computers to iPhone users.
“It’s not about the iPhone,” said Charles Wolf, a financial analyst at Needham & Company. “There’s a tradeoff that Apple is making. The iPhone halo effect will be far more powerful than the iPod halo effect was. It’s going to stimulate Mac sales among iPhone users.”
Airlines Seek Out New Ways to Save on Fuel as Costs Soar
The nation’s airlines are scrutinizing every step of their operations, from the tarmac to the sky, and from the nose to the tail of their planes, searching for new ways to cut their soaring fuel bills.
They are power-washing jet engines more often to get rid of grime, carrying less water for the bathroom faucets and toilets, and replacing passenger seats with lighter models.
The financial pain of higher fuel prices is particularly acute for airlines because it is their single biggest expense. Eight years ago, 15 percent of the price of an airplane ticket went to pay for jet fuel; now, it is 40 percent, according to the Air Transport Association, the industry’s trade group.
If prices stay where they are, the nation’s airlines will collectively spend $61.2 billion this year on jet fuel — more than five times what they spent in 2002, when travel fell sharply after the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Every increase in the price of fuel, already up 84 percent compared with last year, increases the pressure on the carriers, which pump about 7,000 gallons into a Boeing 737 and as much as 60,000 gallons into bigger 747s.
Airlines are raising fares and adding surcharges and fees as fast as they can, but at a certain point, passengers stay home. That’s why the carriers are looking for any new savings they can find.
“Our fleet is over 500 airplanes,” said Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman. “If you can make a difference on one airplane on one flight, and multiply that by 500, in this day and age that is significant.”
Although airlines have tried fuel-saving measures for years, they attacked the problem with renewed urgency when oil passed $100 a barrel this year. Now, all airlines are urging employees to suggest ways, large and small, to cut fuel use.
Carriers save the most by parking aging aircraft, of course, and many are already doing so. Northwest is retiring DC-9 jets it has used for decades; American is grounding some of its MD-80s, while United is parking six 747s.
Each generation of aircraft is more efficient. At Northwest, the Airbus A330 long-range jets use 38 percent less fuel than the DC-10s they replaced, while the Airbus A319 medium-range planes are 27 percent more efficient than DC-9s, said Tim McGraw, Northwest’s director of corporate environmental and safety programs.
But even specks of dirt are considered culprits. American and Southwest are washing a handful of jet engines each night, a process that used to happen only during thorough maintenance overhauls. Southwest figures it has already saved $1.6 million in fuel costs since April by reducing the drag caused by dirt and debris.
American, for one, expects to save roughly $330.7 million this year, or about 3.5 percent on a total fuel bill that will approach $9.26 billion.
A number of airlines are flying their planes somewhat slower in order to save fuel — 480 miles an hour, for example, instead of the usual cruising speed of 500 m.p.h.
Five years ago, Delta estimated the flying time from Los Angeles to Atlanta at 4 hours, 12 minutes; now it is 4 hours and 18 minutes at a lower speed. (The airline has not changed its timetable, which sets aside about four and a half hours for the trip, including taxiing time.)
Up in the cockpit, Delta is studying whether it is feasible to divide the heavy pilot manuals required on each flight between the captain and first officer, so pilots are not toting duplicate sets of five or six books that each weigh about a pound and a half.
Eventually, the airline wants to eliminate printed manuals and display the information on computer screens, a step the government would have to approve.
“That’s very much where we want to go,” said Gary Edwards, Delta’s director of flight control. “That’s the wave of the future.”
Passengers may notice other changes. Airlines including Delta are swapping heavier seats for models weighing about 5 pounds less. American is replacing its bulky drink carts with ones that are 17 pounds lighter. The airline said that move will help save 1.9 million gallons of fuel a year, on top of the 96 million gallons it is saving through other means.
Water is another target. Northwest is putting 25 percent less water for bathroom faucets and toilets on its international flights, Mr. McGraw said. Most planes had been returning from long flights with their tanks half full, an unneeded expense given that water weighs 8.3 pounds a gallon and a gallon of jet fuel is 6.8 pounds.
“Every 25 pounds we remove, we save $440,000 a year,” Mr. McGraw said.
Airlines also are trying to cut fuel consumption at the airport. Most now run their planes’ electrical systems at the gate by plugging them into outlets, rather than running the engines.
“We’re really fine-tuning to get to that sweet spot of efficiency,” said Mr. Edwards of Delta.
Northwest has studied everything from providing customers with packing tips to serving soda from two-liter plastic bottles rather than individual cans. But it decided that customers would balk at that idea.
“They like the can,” Mr. McGraw said. “They want the can.”
They are power-washing jet engines more often to get rid of grime, carrying less water for the bathroom faucets and toilets, and replacing passenger seats with lighter models.
The financial pain of higher fuel prices is particularly acute for airlines because it is their single biggest expense. Eight years ago, 15 percent of the price of an airplane ticket went to pay for jet fuel; now, it is 40 percent, according to the Air Transport Association, the industry’s trade group.
If prices stay where they are, the nation’s airlines will collectively spend $61.2 billion this year on jet fuel — more than five times what they spent in 2002, when travel fell sharply after the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Every increase in the price of fuel, already up 84 percent compared with last year, increases the pressure on the carriers, which pump about 7,000 gallons into a Boeing 737 and as much as 60,000 gallons into bigger 747s.
Airlines are raising fares and adding surcharges and fees as fast as they can, but at a certain point, passengers stay home. That’s why the carriers are looking for any new savings they can find.
“Our fleet is over 500 airplanes,” said Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman. “If you can make a difference on one airplane on one flight, and multiply that by 500, in this day and age that is significant.”
Although airlines have tried fuel-saving measures for years, they attacked the problem with renewed urgency when oil passed $100 a barrel this year. Now, all airlines are urging employees to suggest ways, large and small, to cut fuel use.
Carriers save the most by parking aging aircraft, of course, and many are already doing so. Northwest is retiring DC-9 jets it has used for decades; American is grounding some of its MD-80s, while United is parking six 747s.
Each generation of aircraft is more efficient. At Northwest, the Airbus A330 long-range jets use 38 percent less fuel than the DC-10s they replaced, while the Airbus A319 medium-range planes are 27 percent more efficient than DC-9s, said Tim McGraw, Northwest’s director of corporate environmental and safety programs.
But even specks of dirt are considered culprits. American and Southwest are washing a handful of jet engines each night, a process that used to happen only during thorough maintenance overhauls. Southwest figures it has already saved $1.6 million in fuel costs since April by reducing the drag caused by dirt and debris.
American, for one, expects to save roughly $330.7 million this year, or about 3.5 percent on a total fuel bill that will approach $9.26 billion.
A number of airlines are flying their planes somewhat slower in order to save fuel — 480 miles an hour, for example, instead of the usual cruising speed of 500 m.p.h.
Five years ago, Delta estimated the flying time from Los Angeles to Atlanta at 4 hours, 12 minutes; now it is 4 hours and 18 minutes at a lower speed. (The airline has not changed its timetable, which sets aside about four and a half hours for the trip, including taxiing time.)
Up in the cockpit, Delta is studying whether it is feasible to divide the heavy pilot manuals required on each flight between the captain and first officer, so pilots are not toting duplicate sets of five or six books that each weigh about a pound and a half.
Eventually, the airline wants to eliminate printed manuals and display the information on computer screens, a step the government would have to approve.
“That’s very much where we want to go,” said Gary Edwards, Delta’s director of flight control. “That’s the wave of the future.”
Passengers may notice other changes. Airlines including Delta are swapping heavier seats for models weighing about 5 pounds less. American is replacing its bulky drink carts with ones that are 17 pounds lighter. The airline said that move will help save 1.9 million gallons of fuel a year, on top of the 96 million gallons it is saving through other means.
Water is another target. Northwest is putting 25 percent less water for bathroom faucets and toilets on its international flights, Mr. McGraw said. Most planes had been returning from long flights with their tanks half full, an unneeded expense given that water weighs 8.3 pounds a gallon and a gallon of jet fuel is 6.8 pounds.
“Every 25 pounds we remove, we save $440,000 a year,” Mr. McGraw said.
Airlines also are trying to cut fuel consumption at the airport. Most now run their planes’ electrical systems at the gate by plugging them into outlets, rather than running the engines.
“We’re really fine-tuning to get to that sweet spot of efficiency,” said Mr. Edwards of Delta.
Northwest has studied everything from providing customers with packing tips to serving soda from two-liter plastic bottles rather than individual cans. But it decided that customers would balk at that idea.
“They like the can,” Mr. McGraw said. “They want the can.”
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