Sharklets soon to be on the A318

"Airbus has confirmed that A318s will be offered from 2013 with fuel-saving sharklets wing tips. The A318 will be the last model in the A320 family to receive the sharklet, which will first enter service on the A320 in 2012 with Air New Zealand, followed byFinnair's A321s in 2013, with the A319 and lastly the A318 that same year."
Flightglobal.com


AIrbus has received confirmation that starting in 2013, Sharklets on Airbus A318's will become available to customers who are willing to pay a little extra. Ok, lets backtrack a bit here, what's a Sharklet? So when an aircraft flies, there is obviously drag that occurs. Now drag is not a good thing because it basically slows an aircraft down in a way. When it slows an aircraft down, you need more thrust so that it can move faster. When you use more thrust you use more fuel and that is costly and not efficient. What these Sharklets do, is that they reduce the amount of drag that leaves the wing because of their design. This is a very cost effective measure because then pilots can fly at a lower thrust setting saving fuel and essentially go even farther destination wise because of the "extra" fuel they now have. However, Sharklets are not cheap either, so sometimes the price of the Sharklet does not pay out by savings in fuel efficiency. Thats why Sharklets are generally installed on aircraft that fly further distances. More info on Sharklets can be found here.


"British Airways operates a pair of 32-seat all-business class A318s from London City to John F Kennedy International in New York, with a westbound fuel stop in Shannon, Ireland for fuel and immigration pre-clearance. The return leg from New York is flown directly. While it is not yet clear that the additional fuel stop could be eliminated with the 2.4m (8ft)-tall sharklets, which Airbus claims will improve climb performance and reduce fuel burn by 3.5% over the longest segments, the airframer says a "proper study would need to be done for each particular mission", referring to the transatlantic service offered by British Airways."
Flightglobal.com


This is a perfect example of a great use of Sharklets. Because of the Sharklets, British Airways might be able to cut the fuel-stop needed in Shannon, Ireland which will be good because BA would be able to save on airport taxes and landing fees. Sharklets are a good cost measure idea if used in the right places at the right time. If you instal Sharklets on aircraft that will fly short distances when fuel prices are cheap, then its a bad idea. But if you instal Sharklets on aircraft that will fly long haul distances and also when fuel prices are high, they can significantly cut your fuel bill.

                      Sharklets are those blue pieces of aluminum that are sticking up at the end of the wing.