The first United 737 fitted with the new “Scimitar Winglets” visits Cleveland on February 22, 2014. Photo: George Mihalek – OPShots Contributor
United Airlines announced in November last year that it aims to cut its fuel costs by $1 billion annually by 2017. Recently, the carrier announced that it took a key step towards achieving that objective. Earlier this week, United completed the installation of a newly designed wingtip curved extension, called split scimitar winglet, on one of its Boeing 787-800 aircraft.
Conventional curved extensions on aircraft wing tips, that are shaped upwards, reduce fuel consumption by lowering drag on the airplane from the surrounding air. This new split scimitar winglet installed by United has an additional curved extension which shapes downward. This new design promises additional fuel savings compared to the conventional upward-shaped extension. United says that savings from this new winglet will enable it to save $200 million in fuel costs per year once its entire fleet of 737s, 757s and 767s is outfitted.
via United Seeks To Cut Fuel Costs Through Installation Of New Winglets – Forbes.
