"JA_MORAN" <john.DeleteThis@analon.com> wrote in message
news:29ydnWSEg-j1uFjanZ2dnUVZ_jednZ2d@sedona.net...
>
> Boeing says a 747 burns 5 gallons of fuel for every mile traveled
>
So over, say, a 5,000 mile flight, just to make the math
simple, it'll burn 25,000 gallons. Divide that by, say, 400
passengers (we won't assume the thing is full), and you have
62.5 gallons each.
5,000 miles/62.5 gallons = 80 passenger-MPG.
Not so fuel thirsty after all, from that perspective.
Even if we assume your figures for a 10 hour flight
(36,000 gallons) covered the same 5,000 miles, it's still
55.6 MPG, which puts the 747 (on a passenger-mile
basis) right up there with the most efficient cars
currently on the road.
And as far as I know, I still can't drive a Prius to
Tokyo from San Francisco....
Bob M.
>> Stay informed about: fuel thirsty beast (747)