Flex temp is a technique used to reduce engine wear in large airliners by performing take-off at less than full power.
For Airbus and Fokker aircraft the technique is known as flex temp or just flex. Other aircraft may use the terms Assumed temperature thrust reduction, Reduced take-off thrust or Factored take-off thrust.[1]
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For large aircraft, the required runway length is normally calculated before every take-off. Often the aircraft weight and the local temperature would permit the aircraft to take-off on a shorter runway. The crew then calculates a lower-power engine setting where take-off will use most of the runway. Lower-power settings reduce both noise and engine wear and produce considerable savings in maintenance costs.
This technique is based on air temperature, rather than percentage of engine power, because it is easy for the crew to lookup or calculate the highest air temperature at which any particular take-off can be performed. That temperature is the highest flex temp that can be used.
Jet engines produce reduced thrust as the ambient air temperature increases. The flex temp is the highest air temperature at which the engines would produce the required thrust. The crew finds that temperature and enters it into the flight management system (FMS) — effectively telling the computer to assume the specified air temperature instead of the actual temperature. When take-off-go-around (TOGA) thrust is selected during take off, the engine controller produces maximum thrust for the assumed (flex) temperature. If necessary, the crew can push the throttles past TOGA and request full power.
A number of aircraft incidents and accidents have occurred when the flex temp was incorrectly calculated or entered — for example, those involving Emirates Flight 407 and Thomas Cook Airlines[2] G-OJMC.[3] Modern procedures are designed to minimize that possibility.
Reduced thrust take-offs are slightly less efficient and consume slightly more fuel than full-thrust take-offs. This is because jet engines are at best efficiency at full power, and because the slower climb to cruising altitudes consumes more fuel.[1]