Efficiency Trends for New Commercial Jet Aircraft 1960 to 2008

This paper addresses fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions standards in new aircraft. The authors note that, though the average fuel efficiency of new passenger aircraft has doubled since 1960, improvements have been shown for only 2 of the last 5 decades; gains have stagnated since the year 2000. Low fuel prices are thought to be responsible for diminished gains in fuel efficiency. It is concluded that it is necessary to adapt a carbon dioxide standard applying to newly built aircraft already in production, and not just to new designs, in order to reduce emissions sufficiently.