Actually, it could save much more than that. In its most simple version, it would only assist the aircraft slightly when going down the runway and that would not save much. But it could be built to launch aircraft just below mach 1 and climb them hundreds of meters above ground by making the...
Sure, take off is a small factor in total fuel consumption. But less fuel for take off means the fuel tanks can be smaller and the engines could also possibly be slightly lighter. These things reduce consumption throughout the entire flight.
I don't think it would be such a big issue if the...
Aircraft carriers have been catapulting off aircraft for many years now, so that technology is not strange. At the same time, magnetic propulsion is becoming more and more common for various purposes.
So why are these two technologies not combined for commercial aircraft? Imagine a rail track...