The fuel consumption of an airplane varies significantly depending on the type of aircraft, its size, and the duration of the flight. On average, commercial jets consume between 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of fuel per hour. However, when breaking it down to a per-second rate, the numbers become even more striking..
For example, a large airliner such as a Boeing 777 burns approximately 6,000 gallons of fuel every hour. This equals about 1.67 gallons of fuel per minute, or roughly 0.028 gallons.
(approximately 0.11 liters) per second. Smaller planes or regional jets tend to use less fuel, but the per-second consumption remains relatively similar when considering their size and power.
To understand the total fuel consumption for a complete journey, let’s consider a long-haul flight like New York to London, which lasts around 7 hours. A Boeing 777 on this route would burn about 42,000 gallons of fuel (6,000 gallons per hour x 7 hours). This can be equivalent to around 315,000 pounds of fuel for the entire trip, depending on the aircraft and conditions.
These figures highlight the enormous amount of fuel airplanes consume, making aviation one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions. It’s why the industry is constantly working on more fuel-efficient engines, the use of sustainable aviation fuels, and other innovations to reduce its environmental footprint.
