Originally Posted by
FlightDetent
Dave, I do not believe for a second that's how it works. Once installed, it is immediately used for
PR selling the good neighborliness factor, yes. Absolutely no issues with that but it does not quench my curiosity.
The costs of certifying an element protruding into the airflow on a wing are huge, and somebody needs to pay for that. Especially if we both guess most will buy it there needs to be a widely applicable positive ROI somewhere. Going one step deeper, the ROI (and a profit margin on top) had surely been identified before authorizing the development of the gadget in the first place.
I am thinking of regulatory compliance with future noise limitations, and wonder what the fuel impact is over a year's worth of flying. That needs to be offset too.
EDIT: silently hoping to be wrong...
I can reassure you: you are wrong! I am well informed on that topic.
No regulatory compliance with future noise limitations are involved: the A32 whine effect does not happen a the certification points.
The technical mod costs 3000$ (Source: Airbus)
The certification cost have been taken over by Airbus. The fuel impact has been computed to be slightly... positive by DLR, who developed the solution.
Lufthansa just contributed slightly upon testing.
The business model might be a bit
PR, although I do not either believe for a second that any neighborliness goodwill might ever exist in an airline manager thoughts.
The business model dirty simple: More and more airports are providing a bonus on landing fees to retrofitted planes. Even with a slight fee reduction of only 10$ per operation, the ROI is less than a year.
This is an extremely profitable investment.
Regards