[saganite]

The aircraft can function fine without them. They are fuel saving devices. The Japanese fly several 747-400’s without winglets because they use them as shuttles only and aren’t airborne long enough to realize the fuel savings from having winglets.

[Truth29]

Thanks, so the winglets improve efficiency. On longer flights, the type that much of the A380 marketing is aimed at, the winglets would makes the planes more profitable through lower operating costs?