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Operating for remuneration or hire
Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation.
Airliner are typically used in commercial aviation for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest of them are wide-body jets which are also called twin-aisle because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single-aisle. These are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts.
Commercial aircraft cruising speed
But is it true that newer commercial aircraft are slower than older designs?
John Chesire, former airline pilot, explains on Quora;
‘Allow me to add some anecdotal information. When I started commercial flying it was on the Boeing 727, then the workhorse of the industry. Later another newer workhorse appeared – the Boeing 737 – that I subsequently flew. I was very surprised that this newer 737 aircraft cruised at a slower speed than the older Boeing 727.
‘Subsequently I transitioned to the Airbus A320 and was happy that it cruised a little bit faster than the Boeing 737, but still slower than the old Boeing 727 that flew in the days when fuel was cheap.
‘I suspect the slower cruising speed of newer aircraft has a lot to do with fuel economy. Indeed as an aircraft approaches the higher Mach speeds, the drag (and fuel burn) increases exponentially.
A320 Vs Boeing 737
‘However the slightly higher Mach of the Airbus A320 had more to do with marketing – being a bit faster than the Boeing 737 – than it did with fuel economy.
- B-727 Cruising speed Mach 0 .84 Maximum speed Mach 0.90
- B-747-400 Cruising speed Mach 0.85 Maximum speed Mach 0.92
- B-737 Cruising speed Mach 0.74 Maximum speed Mach 0.82
- A320 Cruising speed Mach 0.78 Maximum speed Mach 0.82
- A321 Cruising speed Mach 0.78 Maximum speed Mach 0.82
- B-777 Cruising speed Mach 0.84 Maximum speed Mach 0.87
- A380 Cruising speed Mach 0.85 Maximum speed Mach 0.89
Chesire concludes;
‘The cruise Mach for the 737-800 is .78 Mach, a bit higher than the classic 737-200, /300, /400 and /500 which is .74. Mach.
‘Once again I suspect the newer 800’s cruise speed was bumped up to meet the competition’s A320 cruise Mach.’
Photo credit: Piedmont Airlines
