Yesterday there was a news report about airlines making their pilots fly a lot slower. It was easy to watch that report & be confused by thinking that was an unsafe practice. The truth is that most pilots flying for the airlines have a history of flying fast. There are many reason for this theory. The flight crew wants to arrive to their destination early so they could get into the hotel early. Many times the crew wait for the hotel van over an hour so it makes sense to arrive early. They also want to get the passengers home early because it makes the airline looks good, or it may help passengers with their connections. You also have pilots who commute to & from home so they often push the throttles up to get home quick. In any case, their are multiple reasons why pilots fly fast. Whats important to know is  its not a safety issue along as the pilots fly within the operation speed limitation of the aircraft.
So with the current crude oil prices hovering at around $122 dollars a barrel, their no surprise that airline management is starting to make pilots fly slower to what is called LRC speed (long range cruise) or economic speed. Most airlines management always preferred pilots fly at these slower speeds anyway. Management is just enforcing this more because of the high oil prices. It would keep them in business longer. The airlines are also requesting pilots take as many short cut routing as possible, & taxi with one engine as much as possible to further save cost. All these methods are safe, & save the airlines money so they could maintain the airplanes.