How much fuel does a Boeing 737-800 consume?

Answer 1

There is no "answer" to this question. The amount of fuel needed to keep an airplane flying depends on many, many things. The weight of the plane and everything on the plane is one factor. The more the plane weighs, the more thrust is needed from the engines to keep it flying, which means more fuel must be used to produce that extra thrust. Now consider, that a 737 can carry up to can carry 7,000 gallons of fuel (and it weighs something like 6 lbs. per gallon). That means the amount of fuel being burned changes (decreases) as the fuel is burned off (i.e. a plane will burn less fuel at the end of a flight than at the beginning). Aircraft need to burn more fuel they are climbing or turning to provide the thrust to make those maneuvers. At low altitudes, more fuel is needed or else the engines won't work correctly. At higher altitudes, the engines do not need nearly as much fuel. If there is a crosswind, the plane has to fight against the wind to stay on course and extra fuel thrust (which means more fuel) is needed. If the plane is flying during the day and the air conditioning system will have to be used and it consumes extra engine power which leads to extra fuel being used.

The following numbers are not exact but they give you an idea of how complicated this problem can be:

Plane #1: Uses 1,500 gallons of fuel for a 2 hour flight. (750 gallons per hour)

Plane #2: Uses 2,000 gallons of fuel for a 5 hour flight. (500 gallons per hour)

Plane #3: Uses 5,000 gallons of fuel for a 7 hour flight. (714 gallons per hour)

Here is another way to think about it:

Plane #1: Has 20% of its maximum fuel. It can travel 100 miles.

Plane #2: Has 40% of its maximum fuel. It can travel 350 miles.

Plane #3: Has 60% of its maximum fuel. It can travel 500 miles.

Plane #4: Has 80% of its maximum fuel. It can travel 600 miles.

Plane #5: Has 100% of its maximum fuel. It can travel 650 miles.