As airlines struggle to stay in the black and grapple with fuel costs, they are getting common-sensical about fuel conservation. We aren’t talking about rocket science- airlines are saving major dollars by slowing down their air speed and adding a minute or so to your flight.

Commercial jets normal cruise above thirty thousand feet at speeds of up to nearly six hundred miles per hour. Now planes look to fly higher and slower. Flying higher leads in fuel economy due to the decreased air resistance of thinner air. Flying slightly slower benefits planes just like driving your car slower does- between certain speeds, it saves fuel. Aircraft that slow slightly, costing passengers mere minutes, can mean millions of dollars in fuel savings for airlines. Southwest predicts that they will save forty two million dollars in next year by adding two minutes to flight time. Other airlines report tens of millions in saved costs this year.

Passengers seem sympathetic. David Gannalo of Phoenix told CNN he supports the change in speed. "Anything that helps the airlines, you know, because they're going bankrupt left and right," Gannalo said. Leah Nichols of San Francisco said she’s “cool with that”. In the larger travel picture, when passengers are expected to accept delays for hours, adding time onto a flight is imperceptible.

Customers should not expect ticket prices to decrease even with efficiency measures. Airlines still lose between $50 and $100 on average every roundtrip domestic flight. These efforts are primarily towards stemming bankruptcy. Eight US airlines have closed between 2007 and 2008, with several others threatening chapter 11 (or chapter 7-liquidation) action or in merger talks.

Airlines, seeing their industry in peril, are also at the forefront of cleantech solutions. Like big rig trucks, airlines are also looking at attachments that can be added to planes to increase aerodynamics. Honeywell, a major partner with several mainstream airlines, has recently looked at using biofuels in planes. Continental, Virgin Atlantic and the US Military have investigated and experimented with the same idea. Commercial aircraft is also experience design revelations with lighter, composite building materials.

Last week, American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey summed it up when he told investors "The U.S. airline industry, as it is constituted today, was not built for $125-per-barrel oil."