Chile-based LATAM Airlines will upgrade over 200 of its Airbus A320 fleet with new descent technology to enhance fuel savings, it said on September 22, 2021. 

The airline will employ Airbus’s ‘Descent Profile Optimization’ (DPO) function onboard the A320’s Flight Management System (FMS) performance database. 

The DPO function assists the aircraft to descend from cruising altitude using only idle engine thrust, reducing CO2 and NOx emissions. It also aids fuel efficiency by maximising the time spent during the cruise phase of flight, the most efficient in terms of fuel burn and emissions. 

Airbus said LATAM can expect to save over 100 tons of fuel annually per aircraft in its fleet and reduce CO2 emissions by almost 300 tons per year per aircraft through the fuel function upgrade. 

The equipment kits required for installing the DPO software onboard LATAM’s Airbus A320 fleet will be delivered between the end of 2021 and early 2022.