I regularly fly into Malta, either with BA, Air Malta or Ryan Air.
It's noticeable that RA brake considerably harder than the other two airlines, to make the earlier exits and reduce taxiing time, and giving themselves an extra few minutes for the turnaround.
I assume this hard braking has a detrimental effect on the life of the brake pads and to a lesser degree disks and tyres, as it would on a car.
You'd have thought RA would want to save costs, by reducing wear and tear, and letting the plane have a gentler arrival. Even reverse thrust uses valuable fuel, so I's surprised they don't just use air brakes!
So do the advantages of a few minutes longer on the ground outweigh the increased maintenance?
Maybe I should send O'leary a suggestion
