New EasyJet livery to save costs

As we all know airlines are always in fierce competition with one another, and trying to make the most profit. Many airlines and aircraft designers have already started thinking of innovative ways to do this such as using composite materials for the aircraft body, light weight carpets and even merging airlines together. The newest initiative is from EasyJet who, starting on today are beginning a trial use of a chemical on the paint of its aircraft which is designed to reduce drag and friction as the aircraft flies through the air. It is trialling the chemical which it calls "revolutionary nano-technology coating" on 8 of its fleet so far, but if the trial is successful then the chemical will also be applied to the rest of its 175 strong fleet.
The polymer in use only adds an extra 130g to the weight of the aircraft which comes as a huge benefit to the airline.

© Danijel Jovanović on airplane pictures.net

How does it work?
Firstly, a company who distributes the coating in the UK TripleO gives the plane a "polarising wash" Which opens the pores on the surface of the material to be treated and electrically charges it with a positive polarity. Which allows the coating to bond to the existing paint. The coat is then applied and makes the paint extra shiny which then reduces the build up of debris on the planes main structure, the leading edge of the wings and other areas, thus reducing friction and drag on the surface of the aircraft.


The new coating is set to reduce costs by 1-2% and so would have been a huge benefit to the airline last year with 40% of the airlines costs on fuel at £730 million, if the suggested 2% was to prove correct, the airline would have reduced this by £14million.
Chief executive of EasyJet Carol McCall says that the customers would stand to benefit: "If we can find new ways of reducing the amount of fuel used by our aircraft, we can pass the benefits on to our passengers by offering them low fares and a lower carbon footprint."


So as the airline industry tries to cut their costs, who knows what will be next, but we be sure the technology in use for these pioneering ideas if successful will continue to be used for years to come.


Sources: BBC news
                Wikipedia
                Airfleets.net