Thought I would repost this precise from another contributor (with thanks for their efforts) A worthwhile reminder to my colleagues:
Cathay penny and pound foolish:
Cost of Captain's Bonus Expressed in kgs of Fuel per Flight
(All values in HK$)
$35,000 x 950 Captains = $33,250,000 (US $4,290,323)
Average number of flights per year: 172,000 (Cathay Online Fact Sheet)
Average amount of bonus per flight: $193.31 (US $24.94)
December 2017 Jet-A Price per Litre: $4.10
Fuel Price per kilogram: $5.25
Cost of bonus in kgs of fuel per flight: 36.8 kgs
It's hard to quantify these things precisely, but my instinct tells me that the difference in fuel savings between highly motivated pilots and those who feel demoralized would be significantly greater than 37 kgs of fuel per sector.
Using the B777-300ER as an example:
- one minute in the cruise is equal to about 100 kgs
- one minute of taxi uses about 33 kgs
A highly motivated flight crew using every trick in the book could probably save in the order of 200 to 1,000 kgs per flight depending on the circumstances.
Judging by the tone of the posts contained within this thread, our Captains feel very betrayed and I sense that their motivation is at an all-time low. If I am correct, then the attempt to save HK $33,250,000 (US $4,290,323) may actually result in losses that are several multiples greater than the initial amount saved.