LATAM Airlines selects Descent Profile Optimization for 200 plus A320 Family fleet

Upgrade saves fuel for airline operators

LATAM Airlines will upgrade their A320 Family fleet with the Airbus “Descent Profile Optimisation” (DPO) function, a fuel-saving enhancement to the aircraft’s on-board Flight Management System (FMS) performance database that can support airlines in their path to more sustainable flights.

LATAM made the announcement during the two-day Airbus Summit, which brought together renowned aerospace experts, operators, thought leaders, journalists, influencers and policymakers to discuss aerospace's role in sustainability and decarbonisation as part of the industry’s journey towards net zero.

The upgrade will be performed on more than 200 of their A320 Family fleet, resulting in LATAM having the biggest Airbus fleet equipped with this powerful fuel saving solution. With the DPO function, LATAM will generate more than 100 tons of fuel savings per year per aircraft across their network, including constrained airports like Lima, Santiago and São Paulo. This will reduce CO₂ emissions by over 300 tons per year per aircraft, representing a significant contribution to more sustainable flight operations with 60,000 tons of CO2 each year for the entire LATAM Airlines’ A320 Family fleet.

The DPO function allows aircraft to descend from cruise altitude using only idle engine thrust, which reduces fuel consumption, bringing proportional CO₂ and NOx (nitrogen oxide emissions) reductions. To further enhance the fuel reduction DPO maximises the time spent at efficient cruise level -by not starting the descent too early- and subsequently minimising the amount of time spent at an inefficient ‘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.

Optimisation of the aircraft’s flight trajectory is one of the key factors to further improve efficiency in cooperation with Air Traffic Control. The DPO function optimises the descent trajectories of its aircraft and reduces the fuel flow to the engines, which arise from the lowest ‘idle’ thrust setting during the descent phase.

All the equipment kits required for the installation of the DPO performance software on LATAM’s A320 Family fleet will start to be delivered from the end of 2021 until early 2022.

DPO is one of the several flight operations optimization solutions offered by Airbus and its flight operations services subsidiary Navblue. Together with improved Air Traffic Management, these fuel savings solutions enable operators to start aviation decarbonisation now.

To see how much fuel could be saved, play with the new Airbus Descent Profile Optimisation Calculator, click here.

For more information:
Jasnna Pempelfort
Communications Manager
Airbus Latin America
jasnna.pempelfort@airbus.com