EasyJet to upgrade its Airbus A320 Family fleet with Descent Profile Optimisation and Continuous Descent Approach to further improve efficiency, fuel savings and noise emissions

EasyJet will equip its A320 Family fleet with a “Continuous Descent Approach” to minimize noise on the ground and Airbus’ “Descent Profile Optimization,” a fuel-saving improvement to the aircraft’s onboard Flight Management System performance database. Using these potent combined solutions, the European short-haul airline will overtake all other operators to become the biggest worldwide.

Aircraft can descend from cruise altitude by using only idle engine thrust due to the DPO and CDA features. This lowers the amount of fuel used and the resulting CO2, NOx, and noise emissions. By delaying the start of the descent and eliminating the “level-off” stage at the bottom of the descent, when the aircraft’s engines generate thrust to maintain level flight in dense air prior to final landing approach, DPO and CDA maximize the time spent at efficient cruise level, further enhancing fuel reduction and noise impact.

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Easy Jet’s entire fleet of more than 300 Airbus A320-family aircraft will be outfitted with DPO and also CDA for eligible aircraft after the update, which will be completed by the end of 2023.

EasyJet will save more than 98,000 kg of fuel per year per aircraft across its network in Europe. This will reduce CO2 emissions by over 311 tons per year per aircraft, or 88,600 tons of CO2 each year for the entire A320 Family fleet, representing a significant contribution to more sustainable flight operations.

Airbus and its subsidiary Navblue, which provides flight operations services, offer a number of flight operations optimization options, including DPO and CDA. These fuel-saving and emissions-reduction strategies give operators the ability to begin aviation decarbonization right now, together with enhanced air traffic control.