Aviation Partners Boeing has said that the first American Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft retrofitted with Blended Winglet technology has entered service.

The company said that the winglets, developed by Aviation Partners Boeing, a Seattle-based joint venture of Aviation Partners Inc and the Boeing Company, are eight-foot vertical extensions of the aircraft’s wingtips that have proven to significantly reduce fuel consumption, improve payload/range capability, lower aircraft noise and emissions, and dramatically improve take-off performance from difficult airports.

American Airlines’ mechanics installed the winglets at their maintenance facility in Tulsa, and last week the airline began Blended Winglet installations on 20 of its Boeing 757-200s.