Decarbonizing Delta’s operations is central to its sustainability strategy, and the global airline is committed to making changes within its control to save on jet fuel.
The company announced it has achieved a big milestone laid out in its strategic sustainability roadmap: Achieving one percent fuel burn savings, or 45 million gallons* of jet fuel, from operational improvements. Delta is the first U.S. airline to achieve its near-term (2025) fuel savings goal from operational improvements.
The airline was able to achieve and surpass this goal in the first quarter of 2025, thanks to Delta’s cross-enterprise Carbon Council that works across divisions and critical teams to implement flight metrics and actions that save jet fuel. This achievement of 45 million gallons of jet fuel savings is worth more than $110M in annual cost savings for the global carrier. Reducing fuel use was accomplished in several ways including:
- Reducing weight on board
- Introducing technology to track and reduce Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) usage between flights
- Optimizing aircraft speed and routing
- Certifying new landing procedures
- Adding drag reduction technology– like winglets – to existing fleet
Delta is also working to embed a sustainability mindset throughout the business with operational fuel-efficiency KPIs to engage employees, unify efforts and empower teams to drive impact toward Delta’s sustainability goals.
“65 percent of Delta people are in a position daily to directly contribute to our operational KPIs for reducing fuel usage, improving fuel efficiency and driving millions of dollars in cost savings each year that, in turn, contribute to profit sharing,” said Delta Carbon Council Director Jesse Miers. “It’s a true team effort that adds up quickly.”
Delta’s Carbon Council works across nearly all of Delta’s frontline teams and is critical in driving a number of initiatives, including:
Enhanced foam engine wash
Last year, Delta TechOps signed a 10-year agreement with AeroCore Technologies for their patented Nucleated Foam Technology. The foam engine wash improves on-wing engine performance by more effectively removing accumulated dirt and debris than traditional water wash programs. This allows the engine to run more efficiently and lowers engine temperatures, which helps to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. This program is projected to deliver 4 million gallons of annual fuel savings.
Fuel burn reduction
Delta’s Flight Ops and TechOps teams have also supported the Carbon Council by working on enhanced landing procedures that help reduce fuel burn. One example of this is with Delta and Boeing’s recently certified reduced flaps landing procedure on the 717 fleet, which is expected to save up to 1 million gallons of fuel per year.
Winglet enhancements
Over the last several years, Delta’s TechOps, Fleet and Carbon Council teams have been working on adding enhanced winglets and lightweight landing gear to its fleet to make them as efficient as possible. Winglets are the curved surfaces seen on the wingtip of aircraft to smooth airflow and reduce drag, allowing aircraft to burn less fuel.
APU run-time reduction
Delta’s Carbon Council is also working across Delta’s ACS, Flight Ops and Delta Connection teams to help reduce APU run-time between flights. APU refers to the auxiliary power unit, or the small engine at the back of the plane that helps provide power and temperature control while the plane is on the ground. Each minute of system-wide APU operation accounts for 1.2 million gallons of fuel consumption per year, so reducing usage can lead to huge fuel savings for Delta.
These are just some of the many ways Delta’s Carbon Council are working to make operational changes to save on jet fuel. As Delta continues to work toward more fuel savings, the airline will continue to innovate and collaborate internally and across the industry.
*Compared to 2019, and relative to what would have been used if Delta had not undertaken any fuel efficiency efforts, not including fleet renewal.
