Cost index for U.S. Carriers with NG

[NGXfanatic 85]

Hi all, I know there are a ton of cost index topics, and I'm aware of the "master" list that has been posted here, yet I feel that list may be outdated or a rough approximation.I mostly fly the 800 winglet, and the 700 winglet for Southwest, and I wanted to ask for input on the most accurate Cost index for the following airlines:United ContinentalDelta (I believe it's 17)AmericanSouthwestWith all the real world crews that appear to visit this board nowadays, I'm hoping they can chime in as well.Thanks!

[oskrypuch 36]

The figures can vary month to month, flight profile to flight profile, and even mission to mission. Crews may even change these mid-flight if they need to make up time, or hold back in the face of anticipated destination delays -- that is more efficient than overriding the cruise speed for example. They are generally considered proprietary, and are not typically publiclly available.The difference in performance is small in the ranges that you might typically vary these. Although a little higher than is typical these days, I just set the CI at 50 and leave it at that. Long gone are the days of a RW CI of 100, but virtual fuel is still cheap. :wink:Why are you so keen on knowing the precise operational figures? Just curious.* Orest

[scandinavian13 5,192]

To add on to what Orest said for everyone here, think about it like this:Your favorite restaurant has a barbecue sauce, just like several other people have barbecue sauce (Stubbs, Famous Dave's and so on). The ingredients they use are what makes or breaks them in their sales. If they were to tell people what their ingredients were, other people could copy it and sell their sauce and take some of their sales.As an airline, what CIs they use (and how and when they use them) are what gets them the performance they need at a particular cost. If another airline knew this information, they could use the same procedures, along with a few others to drive costs down and lower ticket prices, taking some of the one's sales. As I mentioned, more goes into it than that (an airplane is much more complex than barbecue sauce after all), but the principle of not sharing what makes you successful is the main point.That being said, as an idea for everyone here: start to understand what CI is all about and dynamically assign yourself one. Are you late? Use a higher CI. Are you on VATSIM in a busy event with a lot of people ahead of you? Dial it back to conserve fuel and slow down; you might get a hold, otherwise. Are you a low cost carrier? Be more conservative with it. Think about what's going on and go from there.

[Ralgh 43]

At American we used to always use 60 then fuel got expensive so we started always using 45. Then the flight planning coputers were programmed to calculate the best CI for the flight so we now get a different one every flight. The lowest I've seen is 4. A typical high would rarely be above 150. One time we actually had 500 but anything above 150 is pretty much goning to give you the same result. In NGX I just always use 60 for no good reason other than that is what we used when I first started flying the plane.

[JokersWild 34]

The answer to life, the universe, everything, and what cost index you should use is.....is...

[Dan F 6]

42

[Spin737 102]

42

Nice.Personally, I use 1337.

[larrywell 0]

Hi all, I know there are a ton of cost index topics, and I'm aware of the "master" list that has been posted here, yet I feel that list may be outdated or a rough approximation.I mostly fly the 800 winglet, and the 700 winglet for Southwest, and I wanted to ask for input on the most accurate Cost index for the following airlines:United ContinentalDelta (I believe it's 17)AmericanSouthwestWith all the real world crews that appear to visit this board nowadays, I'm hoping they can chime in as well.Thanks!

Hello, i have calculated a cost index for an average speed of mach 078 or 300 kias, after some trying i got 33.

[quadraspleen 7]

Loving the BBQ sauce analogy :(

[scandinavian13 5,192]

Thanks Jake. I guess I was craving BBQ for lunch...

[EdubFlyer 2]

BBQ sauce can be much more complexEric Wallace

[quadraspleen 7]

I usually fly with a BBQ sauce index of 25 now, whatever the flight..I flew with 150 a few times from NZ to AU, high and fast, but found it left me with a lot of energy management on the descent..Surely whatever the airlines usual policy is, the largest factor at the moment is the price of a barrel of oil? (and BBQ sauce)bestjake

[3JaysDad 0]

Hi all, I know there are a ton of cost index topics, and I'm aware of the "master" list that has been posted here, yet I feel that list may be outdated or a rough approximation.I mostly fly the 800 winglet, and the 700 winglet for Southwest, and I wanted to ask for input on the most accurate Cost index for the following airlines:United ContinentalDelta (I believe it's 17)AmericanSouthwestWith all the real world crews that appear to visit this board nowadays, I'm hoping they can chime in as well.Thanks!

Master list?? Didn't see that...... anyone know where it is posted?Phil

[readyfortakeoff 11]

I use 45 and it helps alot with descent...much more manageable

[Fabo 213]

Nice.Personally, I use 1337.

In your 737s? Impressive... What does it go then, .90? :)