Near-vertical extension at the wingtip that weakens the tip vortex, cutting induced drag and with it the aircraft's fuel burn.
What it is
At the wingtip, higher-pressure air beneath the wing tends to spill around the tip towards the lower-pressure upper surface, rolling up into a vortex that trails behind the aircraft and adds induced drag. A winglet acts as a fence that weakens this flow, giving much of the benefit of a longer span without extending the wing as far.
Manufacturers quote fuel savings of a few per cent, greatest on longer sectors, in exchange for extra weight and higher loads on the wing. Designs vary widely: the blended winglets of the Boeing 737 Next Generation, the Sharklets of the Airbus A320 family, or the raked wingtips of the Boeing 787, which pursue the same goal without a vertical surface.
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Winglet. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet
MLA
“Winglet.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Winglet.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Winglet. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_winglet,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Winglet}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet}},
urldate = {2026-10-18},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/winglet |title=Winglet |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-18 |language=en}}