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Cathay Pacific Airways has initiated several innovative moves to cut down on spiralling fuel cost. Perhaps for the first time in the airlines industry, it has launched "silver bullet" freighter, stripped bare of most of its paint, with the exception of the tail and a strip along the aircraft's nose to maintain the airline's identity.

Less paint means less weight, reducing fuel use.

The polished silver fuselage makes the Boeing 747 about 200 kg lighter and saves substantially on annual fuel bill. Ultimately, all 14 freighter aircraft in the airline's fleet are to undergo the transformation. However, passenger aircraft will remain unchanged.

Another move has been to introduce lighter cargo and baggage containers across the entire fleet to make further weight and fuel savings. The new container, at 73 kg is 24 kg lighter than the earlier containers. Cathay Pacific, reports have it, consumes almost two per cent of all jet fuel used by the world's airlines, a large amount considering its size, because most of its flights are long haul.

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