Airlines not taking the green route
Conserve Fuel, But Fail To Cut Emissions …..Shobha John
New Delhi: Going green is serious business these days and the aviation sector is trying to reduce its carbon footprint particularly because it accounts for 2-3% of CO2 emissions worldwide. But this needs international coordination, as pointed out by director-general of International Air Transport Association (IATA) Giovanni Bisignani at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen. Bisignani said, Air transport has ambitious targets for environmental performance. But to achieve them, we need governments to take a global approach.
IATA says this is do-able if the airline industry were to set and stick to three targets: 25% improvement in fuel efficiency by 2020, as compared to 2005; use 10% alternative fuels by 2017 and a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050.
But Indian airline companies may find this hard. They arent following the green route, except conserving fuel. This too simply because it hits their bottom lines. Experts say that there are lessons to be learnt from the KLM-Air France tie-up, one of the greenest aviation partnerships in the world. This partnership aims to reduce emissions to enter the Emissions Trading System in 2012. What lessons can Indian airlines learn from the above partnership?
GenNext fleet: KLM is going in for planes with quieter, more efficient engines such as the B-777s and the A-330s, says Marnix Fruitema, senior VP, Asia and Pacific, Air France-KLM, in Amsterdam. With long-haul flights accounting for 77% of their CO2 emissions, saving fuel makes sense. In May 2007, Air France announced a five-billion-euro plan to replace its Boeing 747s with Boeing 777-300ERS and its A320s with the more efficient A321s. Indian airline companies too are replacing their old planes. Air India, for example, has bought new 777s to replace its aging 747s and A-310s. Its domestic arm has the latest A319s and A321s and even the low-cost carrier Spicejet has got high-tech 737-800s and 900s. The average age of our planes is about two years, says a Spicejet commander. Private carriers also regularly wipe their planes to reduce drag and fuel consumption.
Switching off: KLM pilots are often asked to taxi on arrival with one engine switched off to save fuel, just like American Airlines which reportedly saves $ 10-12 million annually in this way. KLM also uses ground power units (GPU) instead of auxiliary power units (APU). Most airlines in India follow this procedure only when there is a fuel crisis. Every engine is linked to hydraulic, electric and AC mechanisms and in summer, we cant shut one engine down, says Captain Jack Ekl, executive vice-president and chief pilot, Spicejet. Though GPUs are used here too as APUs cost substantially more, most airlines do this only occasionally.
Cutting flab: To reduce onboard weight, Air France trimmed the trolley weight by six kg from 29 kg; galley containers were slimmed down to 2.7 kg from 3.6 kg; drawers made lighter by .3 kg from 0.8 and glass trays from 1.0 to 0.5 kg. Overall weight reduction per plane is about 480 kg on long-haul flights. Indias lowcost airlines also prescribe stringent weight control. Ovens, storage spaces for food, trolleys and steel and glass cutlery are at the minimum, reducing weight by about 200 kg per plane, says the Spicejet pilot.
ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY: A Boeing 777-200 engine undergoes C checks in a hangar in Mumbai. These fuel-efficient planes are best on non-stop routes