I have question about crz speed, specifically slower than standard.You read a lot in the paper and see in the news how airlines are flying slower and making steeper approaches to save fuel. My question is; does the 737-700 burn less fuel if you fly slower? (In the sim of course)I've done numerous flights where my fuel burn has been pretty close to the same amount whether I'm flying at 0.785M or 0.750M. I know it would depend on numerous factors such as the wind/weight/OAT/etc... but lets say for example that the conditions were the same for a 2 hour flight from CLT to DFW. I've done this and the fuel burn has been pretty close to the same amount; so what am I missing. I do notice that at slower speeds the Cruise Pitch is a little higher and I suspect that makes some difference.I guess what I'm asking is what do I need to change/do/learn to do or whatever. Yes, after all these years of flying almost every day, I'm still learning. I hope this makes sense and some of you skilled pilots out there can point me in the right direction. All help and suggestions would be much appreciated.Regards,Fletcher RExecutive Charter INC.

Actually; I just entered a route between CLT and DFW in the company flight planner and used the same route and altitude and weight and all and actually got a result using more fuel for a slower speed because of the longer time (only 2 min more) - a difference of about 200 pounds or so and the speeds were 0.785M and 0.760M; so it appears that unless your aircraft is really light and the lower speed is significantly less, you don't save that much.It would seem that it would only make a big impact on fuel savings if you had a LOT of aircraft that fly every where, every day.I guess I answered my own question, sort of....Anyway, just thought I would mention that I just did that little experiment Cheers!Fletcher RExecutive Charter INC.

Fuel economy is variable based on some of your factors, but you need to get your head wrapped around this type of chart if you want the answers.Like you said, a little savings per flight * No. of airplanes * 365 days = a lot of savings for an airline over a year.Actually you need to fly faster (indicated airspeed) in a headwind to reduce your exposure. Conversely, you slow down with a tailwind and let it push you.Steep descents allow a plane to stay at it's optimum cruise altitude longer where the fuel burn is less. RIght now, typically planes are "stepped down" on arrivals sometimes 100s of miles before they would otherwise.Have fun with your experiments.