A life cycle analysis of commercial aircraft fleets

Abstract

Flight delays primarily caused by air traffic congestion has long been a major concern of stakeholders in the commercial aviation industry. Among these stakeholders, airline companies are held accountable for huge operating losses due to delays in flights. Therefore, airline companies tend to systematically utilize aircraft of various size and flight frequency as a strategy to mitigate delays. Such a decision appears to only be hinged on the operational consequences of the entire aircraft operation involving a collaborative decision-making process among stakeholders and attend less on the environmental impact it can bring about. In this light, this paper performs a life cycle analysis (LCA) of airbus A320 and airbus A330 family to assess the environmental impact of utilizing aircraft of various sizes. Key results point that larger aircraft, such as airbus A330, can better ease environmental degradation compared to smaller ones. With such results, relevant guidelines during air traffic operations can be provided to decision-makers in the commercial aviation industry in terms of aircraft sizing problems.