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Cost Index "database"

Featured Replies

Hi everyone. I recently purchased the iFLY FSX 737NG, to tide me over until "THE" NGX is available. On their member forum, I stumbled upon a very helpful list that appears to show the cost index data for a huge variety of airlines. Now, I know that CI is not really set in stone for airlines, and the the pilots often have the flexibility to adjust a SOP value to allow for a faster/slower cruise as appropriate to how far behind/ahead of schedule their flight is, but it's nice to have a template to help you when simulating airliner ops.This info does not belong to iFLY, the forum poster had obtained it from another public website, just to let you know.I hope this is helpful.Air Baltic

  • 28
  • B757 CI: 50

Air Berlin

  • 30

Air Canada

  • B767s :100

Air France

  • Short/medium haul flight : 35
  • La Navette (France) : 250
  • Longhaul : 45
  • Delayed shorthaul : 250
  • Delayed longhaul : 135

Air Malta

  • B737 CI: 25

Air New Zealand

  • B767: 45

Austrian

  • 35

British Airways Airbus Fleet:

  • A319/A320/A321
    • Climb at: Cost Index 0
    • Cruise at Cost Index 20

Boeing Fleet:

  • Boeing 737-300/400 and 500 Series
    • Climb at: Cost Index 0
    • Cruise at Cost Index 28

  • Boeing 747-400
    • Climb at: Cost Index 0
    • Cruise at Cost Index 90

Cost Index 0 (Sometimes used on East Coast USA to UK Flights and less often on UK to Singapore/Bangkok flights)

  • Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-300
    • Climb at: Cost Index 0
    • Cruise at Cost Index 40

  • Boeing 777-200
    • Climb at: Cost Index 0
    • Cruise at Cost Index 100

Cost Index 0 (Sometimes used on East Coast USA to UK Flights) British Midland

  • 40

Cathay

  • B744 CI:80

China Airlines

  • 85 (Nur B747)

Condor

  • Boeing 767-300ER: 30
  • Boeing 757: 18

EasyJet

  • Airbus A319 Cost Index: 12
  • Airbus A320 Cost Index: 12
  • Airbus A321 Cost Index: 23

EL AL

  • 737's: 15-30
  • 747's: 39(short/mid haul- Europe)757's: 20-40
  • 767's: 30-45(30-40 for Europe, 40-45 long haul)
  • 777's: 71(long haul, ex KLAX)

Emirates

  • Airbus A330-200 Cost Index: 25

FlyGlobespan

  • Boeing 737-700 Cost Index: 14
  • Boeing 737-800 Cost Index: 13

FlyNiki

  • 35

Hamburg International

  • Airbus A319: 40
  • Boeing 737-700: 30

KLM

  • F70/100 Climb/Cruise : 30/15
  • 737 Climb/Cruise : 30/15
  • A330 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 60/150(300)/30
  • MD11 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 50/100/20
  • 777 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 50/100/20
  • 747 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 150/300/50

Lufthansa

  • Airbusse: 30
  • Boeing 747-400: 70
  • Airbus A300-600: 35
  • Boeing 737-300: 25

Lufthansa Cargo

  • 80

Luxair

  • 50

Nordavia

  • Boeing 737-500 CI-27

NordStar Airlines (??????)

  • B737 NG: CI 30

Qantas

  • B744 CI: 100
  • Cost Index 40 for domestic flights
  • Cost Index 20 for most International plans, however they may be planned up to CI250 to meet schedule/duty limits

Ryanair

  • Boeing 737-800 Cost Index: 30

S7

  • 30

SAS

  • 45-50

Singapore Airlines

  • B747/B777 CI:150

Skyexpress Russia

  • B737CL
    • ?????????? = 28
    • ????????????? = 32

South African

  • 50

Southwest Airlines

  • 737-300/500 CI:28
  • 737-700 CI:36

Swiss Airlines

  • A32S:
    • FL290 and below: CI 10
    • above FL290: CI 20

  • A330-200 and A340-300:
    • LRC: CI 30
    • M.082 Cruise: CI 30 for Climb/Descend and Cruise up to FL280, above M.082 manually edited
    • M.083 Cruise: CI 150 for Climb/Descend and Cruise up to FL290, above above M.083 manually edited

Thomson Airways

  • Airbus A320 Cost Index: 13
  • Airbus A321 Cost Index: 17
  • Boeing 737-300 Cost Index: 10
  • Boeing 737-800 Cost Index: 9
  • Boeing 757-200 Cos Index: 10
  • Boeing 767-300
  • Long Haul Cost Index: 19
  • Short Haul Cost Index: 11

Ukraine International Airlines

  • cost index: 14
  • B737 Classic: 19-20
  • B737 NG: 28

United Airlines

  • Flight with duration < 4 Hours:
    • A319 and A320 = Cost Index 27
    • B737-300 and B737-500 = Cost Index 35
    • B747-400 = Cost Index 90
    • B757-200 = Cost Index 80
    • B767-300 = Cost Index 65
    • B777-200 = Cost Index 85

  • Flights with duration > 4 Hours:
    • A319 and A320 = Cost Index 22
    • B737-300 and B737-500 = Cost Index 30
    • B747-400 = Cost Index 85
    • B757-200 = Cost Index 75
    • B767-300 = Cost Index 60
    • B777-200 = Cost Index 80

Virgin Atlantic

  • A340-300 CI = 30
  • A340-600 CI = 40
  • B747-400 CI = 73 - 93
  • B747 :150

Westjet

  • B737NG :20-25

A.J. Domingo

  • Replies 102
  • Views 370.2k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Interesting list. Thank you.Didn't know that they even alter the CI for the different phases of flight.

  • Author

I think airlines sometimes use a higher number cost index during the takeoff phase to better comply with ATC demands in the busy terminal space (i.e., expedited climbs, or speed changes for proper spacing from other traffic). When I say a higher number, I mean better performance at the expense of fuel savings. Once they are in the cruise phase, there may not be such pressure, so it would feasible to allow the aircraft to follow the most economical profile, thus a a lower cost index which lowers speed to save fuel.For the most part, when planning my fuel load I will use the SOP airline cost index. But until I'm above 10,000ft AGL, I will use 100 (or whatever is listed on the above chart) CI. This is one of those obscure tidbits I happened to pickup on the net from real world pilot reports, I'm not sure if it's common practice.

A.J. Domingo

Im pretty sure that most airlines wouldnt use a higher cost index for departure, instead they would have just used speed select if the departure speed was too slow. Its true that most airlines use two different cost indexes for cruise tho, one for normal, on-time operations, usually a very low number, and another one for situations where they are behind schedule, often a much higher number.

Johan Pettersen

In case anyone was curious, what Cost Index actually does is: At the maximum CI value (typically 200 on old FMCs, 500 on newer ones), it puts the aircraft up near Vmo for climb and cruise and up to 330 knots for a descent (not overriding speed restrictions), At the minimum CI value (zero), it puts the aircraft into airspeeds that will get you maximum range and minimum fuel usage, although you'd certainly need decent wind data input into the FMC to have that work well.I mostly just use a value of 100, I don't have to pay for my virtual fuel - except virtually in Air Hauler - but even then it doesn't really matter much since CI is an index of the fuel cost versus time-operated cost, and the maintenance in Air Hauler is not done to a level of detail which makes that especially relevant, as it always goes simply off hours on the airframe or damage incurred. It can be fun to see if you can save a bit of fuel and I generally do try to cut down on flight times by screwing around with things en route, including altering the cruise altitude and occasionally steering around weather, but I don't exactly beat myself up over it, although if anyone was simulating a real world's airline operations, I agree that it would add a touch of realism to use the CI which the real airline generally uses.Al

Alan Bradbury

Check out my youtube flight sim videos: Here

  • 2 months later...

Just what i was looking for, thanks very good!

The Cost Index = fuel consumption in KG per minute? Like a cost index of 70 would be 70kg of fuel per minute?

IIRC, CI = Fuel related costs (price of fuel) / Time related costs (Time of Flight) Also, I'm reasonably certain that this list is severely out of date. Most of these CIs predate the massive hike in fuel prices that occurred ~2008, since they all seem rather high. Southwest started using 20 for all aircraft back in 2008 (?), UAL switched 0 on the 757s at about the same time, and COA was using 7 on it's 737s.

Joe Sherrill

  • 2 months later...
IIRC, CI = Fuel related costs (price of fuel) / Time related costs (Time of Flight)Also, I'm reasonably certain that this list is severely out of date. Most of these CIs predate the massive hike in fuel prices that occurred ~2008, since they all seem rather high. Southwest started using 20 for all aircraft back in 2008 (?), UAL switched 0 on the 757s at about the same time, and COA was using 7 on it's 737s.
Other way around: time related costs ($/hr) / fuel related costs (cts/lb)...Andrew

Andrew Entwistle

  • 1 year later...

 

Hi everyone. I recently purchased the iFLY FSX 737NG, to tide me over until "THE" NGX is available. On their member forum, I stumbled upon a very helpful list that appears to show the cost index data for a huge variety of airlines. Now, I know that CI is not really set in stone for airlines, and the the pilots often have the flexibility to adjust a SOP value to allow for a faster/slower cruise as appropriate to how far behind/ahead of schedule their flight is, but it's nice to have a template to help you when simulating airliner ops.This info does not belong to iFLY, the forum poster had obtained it from another public website, just to let you know.I hope this is helpful.Air Baltic

  • 28
  • B757 CI: 50
Air Berlin
  • 30
Air Canada
  • B767s :100
Air France
  • Short/medium haul flight : 35
  • La Navette (France) : 250
  • Longhaul : 45
  • Delayed shorthaul : 250
  • Delayed longhaul : 135
Air Malta
  • B737 CI: 25
Air New Zealand
  • B767: 45
Austrian
  • 35
British Airways Airbus Fleet:
  • A319/A320/A321
  • Climb at: Cost Index 0
  • Cruise at Cost Index 20
Boeing Fleet:
  • Boeing 737-300/400 and 500 Series
  • Climb at: Cost Index 0
  • Cruise at Cost Index 28
  • Boeing 747-400
  • Climb at: Cost Index 0
  • Cruise at Cost Index 90
Cost Index 0 (Sometimes used on East Coast USA to UK Flights and less often on UK to Singapore/Bangkok flights)
  • Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-300
  • Climb at: Cost Index 0
  • Cruise at Cost Index 40
  • Boeing 777-200
  • Climb at: Cost Index 0
  • Cruise at Cost Index 100
Cost Index 0 (Sometimes used on East Coast USA to UK Flights) British Midland
  • 40
Cathay
  • B744 CI:80
China Airlines
  • 85 (Nur B747)
Condor
  • Boeing 767-300ER: 30
  • Boeing 757: 18
EasyJet
  • Airbus A319 Cost Index: 12
  • Airbus A320 Cost Index: 12
  • Airbus A321 Cost Index: 23
EL AL
  • 737's: 15-30
  • 747's: 39(short/mid haul- Europe)757's: 20-40
  • 767's: 30-45(30-40 for Europe, 40-45 long haul)
  • 777's: 71(long haul, ex KLAX)
Emirates
  • Airbus A330-200 Cost Index: 25
FlyGlobespan
  • Boeing 737-700 Cost Index: 14
  • Boeing 737-800 Cost Index: 13
FlyNiki
  • 35
Hamburg International
  • Airbus A319: 40
  • Boeing 737-700: 30
KLM
  • F70/100 Climb/Cruise : 30/15
  • 737 Climb/Cruise : 30/15
  • A330 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 60/150(300)/30
  • MD11 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 50/100/20
  • 777 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 50/100/20
  • 747 Climb/Cruise/Descend : 150/300/50
Lufthansa
  • Airbusse: 30
  • Boeing 747-400: 70
  • Airbus A300-600: 35
  • Boeing 737-300: 25
Lufthansa Cargo
  • 80
Luxair
  • 50
Nordavia
  • Boeing 737-500 CI-27
NordStar Airlines (??????)
  • B737 NG: CI 30
Qantas
  • B744 CI: 100
  • Cost Index 40 for domestic flights
  • Cost Index 20 for most International plans, however they may be planned up to CI250 to meet schedule/duty limits
Ryanair
  • Boeing 737-800 Cost Index: 30
S7
  • 30
SAS
  • 45-50
Singapore Airlines
  • B747/B777 CI:150
Skyexpress Russia
  • B737CL
  • ?????????? = 28
  • ????????????? = 32
South African
  • 50
Southwest Airlines
  • 737-300/500 CI:28
  • 737-700 CI:36
Swiss Airlines
  • A32S:
  • FL290 and below: CI 10
  • above FL290: CI 20
  • A330-200 and A340-300:
  • LRC: CI 30
  • M.082 Cruise: CI 30 for Climb/Descend and Cruise up to FL280, above M.082 manually edited
  • M.083 Cruise: CI 150 for Climb/Descend and Cruise up to FL290, above above M.083 manually edited
Thomson Airways
  • Airbus A320 Cost Index: 13
  • Airbus A321 Cost Index: 17
  • Boeing 737-300 Cost Index: 10
  • Boeing 737-800 Cost Index: 9
  • Boeing 757-200 Cos Index: 10
  • Boeing 767-300
  • Long Haul Cost Index: 19
  • Short Haul Cost Index: 11
Ukraine International Airlines
  • cost index: 14
  • B737 Classic: 19-20
  • B737 NG: 28
United Airlines
  • Flight with duration < 4 Hours:
  • A319 and A320 = Cost Index 27
  • B737-300 and B737-500 = Cost Index 35
  • B747-400 = Cost Index 90
  • B757-200 = Cost Index 80
  • B767-300 = Cost Index 65
  • B777-200 = Cost Index 85
  • Flights with duration > 4 Hours:
  • A319 and A320 = Cost Index 22
  • B737-300 and B737-500 = Cost Index 30
  • B747-400 = Cost Index 85
  • B757-200 = Cost Index 75
  • B767-300 = Cost Index 60
  • B777-200 = Cost Index 80
Virgin Atlantic
  • A340-300 CI = 30
  • A340-600 CI = 40
  • B747-400 CI = 73 - 93
  • B747 :150
Westjet
  • B737NG :20-25

Cebu Pacific

  • A319/A320 CI = 10

Jude Bradley
Beech Baron: Uh, Tower, verify you want me to taxi in front of the 747?
ATC: Yeah, it's OK. He's not hungry.

X-Plane 12 and MSFS2020  🙂

System specs: Windows 11  Pro 64-bit, Ubuntu Linux 20.04 i7-13700KF  Gigabyte Z790 RTX-4060-Ti , 32GB RAM  1X 2TB M2 for X-Plane 12,  1x256GB SSD for OS. 1TB drive MSFS2020

  • 2 weeks later...

AIRBERLIN is not correct !
They fly with an cost index of 7

Yeah, KLM numbers are not correct either, I believe that they use 6 (737), 7 (738) and 9 (739). I don't think anybody uses 30 on Boeing 737s these days.

vatsim s3

1133704.png

  • 2 months later...

remember its an old list and things change over time.

-Paul-

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