Tue, Jun 19, 2012
Says There Is The Potential To Reduce CO2 Emissions By More Than 40 Percent
Airbus and Air Canada on Monday made what they billed as North America’s first “Perfect Flight” over international borders, with the goal of cutting CO2 emissions by more than 40 percent compared to a regular flight. The commercial flight on an Airbus A319 aircraft from Toronto, Canada to Mexico City combined the use a modern, state-of-the-art aircraft, powered by sustainable alternative fuels, guided by streamlined Air Traffic Management procedures and facilitated through best practice operations to under-pin the industry’s four pillar strategy to tackle carbon emissions.
The Air Canada flight (AC991) is the second leg out of a series of four biofuel flights taking the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Raymond Benjamin to Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).
The flight combines best operational and environmental practices available today. Dubbed as "Perfect Flight", it includes:
- Operation of the most eco-efficient aircraft family in its market segment.
- Use of sustainable bio-fuel blend (a 50 percent blend) made from used cooking oil supplied by SkyNRG.
- Optimized routings and flight altitude. In agreement with the Air Traffic Management authorities, the Airbus A319 will fly the most direct route, using the most efficient vertical flight profile and applying a Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) into Mexico City to save fuel and limit noise.
- Combination of several eco-efficient operational procedures such as single engine-taxiing, external aircraft cleaning for improved aerodynamics, light weight cabin equipment and a neatly tailored flight plan
"Today’s flight with Air Canada proves that the aviation industry is in a strong position to reduce emissions and fly many more Perfect Flights," said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. "To make this a day-to-day commercial reality, it requires now a political will to foster incentives to scale up the use of sustainable biofuels and accelerate modernization of the air-traffic-management system. We need a clear endorsement by governments and all aviation stakeholders to venture beyond today’s limitations."
"Air Canada fully accepts its responsibility to reduce its footprint and our first flight using biofuel tangibly demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the environment. Since 1990 our airline has become 30 per cent more fuel efficient and we are determined to increase these gains through cutting-edge measures such as those being showcased with this Airbus A319 Toronto-Mexico City flight, our greenest ever," said Duncan Dee, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada. (Image provided by Airbus)
More News
Chaff Thin, narrow metallic reflectors of various lengths and frequency responses, used to reflect radar energy. These reflectors, when dropped from aircraft and allowed to drift d>[...]
“Today, XB-1 took flight in the same hallowed airspace where the Bell X-1 first broke the sound barrier in 1947. I’ve been looking forward to this flight since founding>[...]
“Teaming up with the EAA and Berlin Express for this event in Cincinnati will give warbird fans a unique opportunity to see the aircraft that helped defend freedom and gave t>[...]
Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]
Aero Linx: The Nebraska Aeronautics Commission The Nebraska Aeronautics Commission was created by the 1935 Legislature to oversee the development of aviation in the state. The Comm>[...]