Plane Talking

Recently in aviation Category

The unseen greening of airports

By
Guest
on August 19, 2010 2:19 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 

Today's Guest blogger is Robert O'Meara who is Communications Manager at ACI Europe.

ACA_stageFINAL_tcm181-93952.JPGSo, it's that time of year again. Peak summer season. If you have been through an airport recently, you'll doubtless have seen for yourself just how busy it is. But in the journey from check-in to security to boarding your flight, what activities did you notice on the airport site?

In the midst of security threats, extreme weather and the many other surprises that aviation can often be affected by (volcanic ash, anyone?), sometimes it's all too easy to overlook the environmental efforts being made by an airport.

Airports all over Europe are undertaking all kinds of environmental projects: from changing the airport car fleet to electric or hybrid technology, to photovoltaic parks, enhanced water management and recycling projects. So much of these activities go unnoticed by the passenger.

Airport Carbon Accreditation - mentioned on a number of previous occasions in this blog - celebrated its first birthday in mid-June. In that first year, 20 European airports became accredited at one of the four different levels possible: 'Mapping', 'Reduction', 'Optimisation' and 'Neutrality'.


Year 2 of the programme kicked off on 17 June 2010. And already, it's clear that momentum has moved up a gear. In less than 2 months, all of these airports have already renewed or become accredited for the first time:

- Milan Linate & Milan Malpensa in Italy
- Istanbul Airport in Turkey
- Bologna Airport in Italy
- Stockholm Arlanda and Stockholm Bromma airports in Sweden
- Ankara Esenboga Airport in Turkey
- Athens Airport in Greece
- Farnborough Airport in the UK
- Umea City Airport in Sweden
- Antalya Airport in Turkey

Some of these airports are at the beginning of the programme -  mapping the emissions sources under their control on the airport site. But nearly 50% of those listed are reducing CO2 emissions, actively engaging with others on the airport site to reduce theirs and offsetting any remaining CO2 emissions under the airports' direct control - effectively running carbon neutral operations.
accreditation.JPG

So if you're passing through an airport terminal in the weeks or months ahead, take a look around. You may notice more recycling bins. The bus taking you to the aircraft may well be gas-powered. And the aeroplane you're travelling on probably won't leave its engines running on the ground, as occurred in the past. And you may see a banner that says 'This airport is participating in Airport Carbon Accreditation'.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Comment on this post >>

Aviation Insights: Collaboration for Green Aviation

By
Guest
on August 10, 2010 5:38 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
In our Farnborough video series, ATAG's Executive Director Paul Steele discusses how the industry is collaborating around green aviation in the same way it did around safety.  He also touches on the Farnborough debut of the Boeing 787, which in addition to the Airbus A380, represents the future of long-haul flying and a milestone in green aviation - both aircraft are made of lighter weight composites, feature more aerodynamic design and fuel efficient engines.  Learn more in the video...


Comment on this post >>

Aviation Insights: BA and Solena Partner on Biofuel Plant

By
enviro
on August 6, 2010 10:58 AM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
The industry's commitment to green aviation was on show throughout Farnborough this year.  In this video, British Airway's Jonathon Counsell and Solena Group's Dr. Robert Do discuss a collaboration to build the first plant in Europe which will produce aviation jet fuel from household rubbish.  The UK facility will produce 16 million gallons of fuel from 500,000 tonnes of waste.  Watch the video and learn about the science behind and future for this innovative collaboration.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Comment on this post >>

Aviation Insights: Airbus Talks Alternative Fuels

By
enviro
on August 4, 2010 12:55 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
At Farnborough, we caught up with Paul Nash, Head of New Energies for Airbus.  In this video, he shares examples of how Airbus is using synthetic fuels today, tells how Airbus is taking a catalyst role in speeding up the commercialisation of biofuels and outlines the issues the industry faces the move towards carbon neutral growth.

Comment on this post >>

Aviation Insights: Boeing and Biofuels

By
enviro
on August 2, 2010 11:17 AM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
Continuing our series of Farnborough interviews, Boeing's Managing Director of Environmental Strategy, Bill Glover, talks about the use of biofuels today and offers insight into the future of green aviation.

Comment on this post >>

Aviation Insights: Hélène Gagnon, Bombardier

By
enviro
on July 28, 2010 1:26 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 

At Farnborough Airshow Hélène Gagnon shared with us the environmental initiatives being spearheaded by business jet and commercial aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. 

Watch the video to hear how Bombardier incorporates environmental stewardship throughout the production lifecycle; the company's leadership in establishing a carbon offset programme for business jet customers; and how Bombardier is helping the aviation industry 'walk the talk' with recycling at the air show

 


 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Comment on this post >>

Day 2 Farnborough

By
Guest
on July 21, 2010 10:38 AM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
Day two at Farnborough and already many of the manufacturers are announcing orders with more to follow. The business of the show is business, after all, and it is fascinating to walk round the trade show and realise just how many different companies are involved in the aviation industry, with all the jobs and economic benefit this brings around the world.

It is also gratifying to see how many parts of the industry are taking their environmental responsibilities seriously. We have seen parts manufacturers who are striving to make their products as light as possible in order to save fuel; a brake manufacturer who has developed a brake that slows the plane down without the fuel burn used before; and providers of air traffic management solutions which minimise flight time and thus, carbon emissions.

We also spoke to Paul Nash, Head of New Energies for Airbus and Billy Glover, Managing Director Environmental Strategy for Boeing, who both spoke about the tremendous potential of biofuels. The consensus seems to be that there will not be a 'one size fits all' approach to biofuel production as different countries and communities will draw upon the feedstocks (plants, waste and even algae) which make economic and environmental sense to them. This makes good sense and, in the end, as long as the fuels produced remain 'drop in' then it will make no difference to the industry. The future in this area is very exciting and will make a huge difference to aviation's environmental impact. Both these interviews will be available on the YouTube channel.


Comment on this post >>

Extra! Extra! Read all about it in the Green Flight Times!

By
Haldane
on July 20, 2010 12:17 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 

GreenFlightTimes.gifIf you are coming to the Farnborough Air Show, you'll be able to pick up a small newspaper that we had printed for the event - the Green Flight Times [2mb]. This publication is available for free around the air show site.

It's a simple concept - a digest of environmental news releases and announcements from across the world of commercial aviation from the last three months. It's a very clear demonstration that there is A LOT happening in all parts of the world to make our industry's footprint a bit smaller. I had originally thought that three month's worth of news would take just a few pages... but this is actually a 12-page tabloid newspaper! Just goes to show how much our industry is focussed on environmental efficiency.

Download the PDF of the Green Flight Times here and remember to check-in with our newswire for the latest news from across the industry, updated daily.

And don't forget to follow us on twitter (@enviroaero) and Facebook.

Comment on this post >>

Day 1 Farnborough

By
Guest
on July 19, 2010 10:54 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
Perfect weather and a great day for the opening of the Farnborough Air Show.  Next to the show news at every entrance, visitors could also pick up copies of the Green Flight Times and new Beginner's Guide to Aviation Efficiency.

Green flight was a theme that carried throughout the day.  First, we had a tour of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has been getting incredible coverage in the UK press. Next, everyone was out on the deck for the flight of the Airbus A380, billed as the largest, greenest passenger plane in the world. We're talking to Boeing and Airbus tomorrow and will report back.

We met with some of the industry's leaders on green flight.  First, Helene Gagnon, Vice President of Bombardier, who as manufacturers of both business and commercial jets has been at the forefront of pushing environmental standards.  She shared insights on their efforts which we will be sharing in the weeks ahead.  She also showed an environmental initiative that was showing immediate effect throughout the show - the recycling bins.  Several years ago, Bombardier noticed that there was no on-site recycling at Farnborough and offered to provide it.  Now three years running, the company provides 250 bins for both Farnborough and the Paris Air show.

Next up, we met with Jonathon Counsell, head of environment for British Airways.  He shared insights into the company's Biofuels initiative which turns rubbish into aviation fuels.  And to provide further insight into BA's biofuels plant we interviewed Dr. Robert Do, President & CEO of Solena Group who explained how the chemistry works and its future potential.

Check future blog posts and the YouTube channel for more information on these and other interviews.


Comment on this post >>

A pilot's first green transatlantic experience

By
Guest
on July 15, 2010 2:26 PM | | Comments (0)

Comment on this post >>

 
CaptainClaude.jpg
Flying from Paris to Miami on 6 April, passengers on board could have been forgiven for not noticing there was anything different. Yet, for the people at Air France and SESAR, the flight had tremendous significance in seeing the results of the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE) programme in action.

As the pilot, Captain Claude Godel explained to SESAR, the AIRE flight between Paris and Miami is ideal as it crosses numerous airspaces, all of which belong to AIRE as well as being incredibly efficient becuase it takes the best flight path, shortens the travel time and saves CO2 and fuel. According to Captain Godel the first green atlantic flight was the result of a combination of current best practices, comparing flight under AIRE as being similar to driving a car with only green lights in your path, as opposed to having to start and stop for each traffic light. Though he acknowledged that implementing these practices was difficult and required a reasonable amount of extra preperation and co-ordination, the success of the flight showed that implementing these practices was both achievable and worthwhile

AIRE was launched in 2007, designed to improve energy efficiency and aircraft noise in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). SESAR is responsible for its management in Europe. In 2009,SESAR supported 1,152 green flight trials under the AIRE umbrella. Over the coming year, Airbus, Air France, NATS, and NAV Canada will perform a series of transatlantic green flights with the A380, bridging the American and European projects.

The hope is that these successful flights will encourage the full adaptation of these technologies to ensure the full development of smarter, greener, flights that use the full range of environmentally-friendly options that already exist.



Enhanced by Zemanta

Comment on this post >>

« air traffic management | Main Index | Archives | carbon emissions »