OOfff

the APU is a significant cost across a fleet. Reducing unnecessary use is a great goal. Saying “it doesn’t matter” (quite literally the title of the thread) is incorrect.

Hedley

APU burn cost definitely add up, but evidently not enough to force changes. Until the the company buys air carts that actually blow enough cold air to maintain cabin temps, until they train the ground crews to hook the air and ground power up first thing when we block in, until they train ground crews to unhook the air right when we call so that we can turn the packs on (737 limit) and maintain temperature, I’ll just run the APU. If they don’t want to make the changes, they can pay for the fuel. It’s their dime.

CincoDeMayo

Sweet. How about more seats in the plane, charge for water. Run those numbers for a year. You sound like ULCC management. Imagine the savings if you guys did cross bleed starts vs using the APU to start the second engine. 🙄

Margaritaville

I'll have to say this is a rare time I agree with OOfff. You have to multiply it out by the entire fleet. The numbers do get big and the savings are real. It's a shame that pilots tend not be myopically focused on only their own flight. That's pilot nature.

Also despite it being petty, Crandall was correct about the olives. $100,000 is $100,000. The more money the company has, the more money the pilots can ask for. It's really that simple.

If the ground air isn't cooling there plane, write it up. If it's 100 degrees and the ground air isn't sufficient then do what you gotta do. I see no reason to start an APU on taxi in unless the equipment at the gate is inop or it's 100 degrees.

Foggles

It gets insanely more expensive when something or someone goes through the engine you left running at the gate.

CBreezy

I've been here a good chunk of time and I've literally never waited for ground power to be plugged in before shutting down an engine. Every memo I've read, at least on my fleet, is to wait to turn on the APU until approaching the gate. I've never seen one that says to never start it at all.

Margaritaville

Again, that's myopic. If the ramp did their job and did a FOD check that shouldn't be a problem.

I mean in reality how often does something "go through the engine" running at the gate? It's an infinitely small problem in search of a solution.

3inthegreen

Yes, I always love the emails from people sitting in an air conditioned office, which is kept at 70 degrees at all times in the summer, reminding pilots we need to be mindful of APU usage. These same dumb-a$$ managers come up with stupid policies like wanting us to run an engine at the gate while we wait for the $10.00 an hour ground crew to find their last sh!t to give and actually plug the GPU in. And its also completely naivie to think these same mid-level managers will defend any Pilot in front of the FAA and NTSB when one of those poorly trained, high turnover rate, rampers, with Air Pods in ears, walks into the number 1 engine at night that has been motoring for 17 minutes. My all time favorite though is the emails reminding us about APU and SETWA while some of our stations are so understaffed in ground crews, we literally have airplanes waiting over an hour, not for a gate, but for marshalers.

Final point, customers remember whether a flight was enjoyable or not. They remember basic things like, oh, that was the "hottest most miserable flight I've ever taken." Treating customers with respect and making the cabin cool in the summer, especially while at the gate, is one small choice Pilots can make that will help ensure people keep coming back. Treat people like sh!t and they will take their business elsewhere.

2StgTurbine

That's not why we want to shut down the engines right away. Rampers routinely forget to check if the beacon is off. They have hearing protection on and walk right up to the spinning engine with a cone that gets sucked in. Happens every couple of years. Only takes one of those events to undo years of your hard work of not starting the APU on taxi in.

CincoDeMayo

1000% correct. And I’ll add one more, the tens of thousands wasted annually while you burn gas on the taxiway because your gate is occupied and ops doesn’t want to switch you to the open gate 2 gates over.