Air NZ moves closer to sustainable air travel
02 Oct 2008
New Zealand’s national carrier, Air New Zealand, already claiming to be the world's most environmentally responsible airline, has announced another batch of new initiatives towards sustainable air travel.
Winglets
The airline is fitting performance enhancing winglets to its 767 fleet which will reduce fuel emissions.
Air New Zealand estimates it will save more than NZ$7.5 million in fuel and 16,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The 767 fleet, which operates to Australia, the Pacific Islands and Honolulu, will be fitted with the winglets progressively from July next year.
The winglets are 3.4m high wing-tip devices which make the aircraft’s wing more efficient by reducing the drag near the wing tip. This means the aircraft uses less fuel, and can climb faster.
Air New Zealand General Manager Airline Operations Captain David Morgan said the winglets were a significant investment but would provide long-term environmental, performance and commercial benefits for aircraft operating services on longer sectors.
Driers
Air New Zealand is also fitting zonal dryers in four of its jet fleets to reduce fuel burn and consequent emissions.
The electrically-powered dryers, mounted in the space above the ceiling or under the floor, reduce moisture trapped in insulation between the aircraft outer skin and cabin lining. They typically remove around 200k of water from each aircraft thereby reducing fuel consumption.
Air New Zealand expects to save 500,000 US gallons of fuel a year across 42 aircraft, reducing carbon emissions by 4700 tonnes a year.
Test flight
In September Air New Zealand and key aviation partners demonstrated the potential for the commercial aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions by millions of tonnes annually, with a test flight between Auckland and San Francisco.
The commercial Boeing 777 flight NZ8, re-named ASPIRE I, operated under optimum flight planning conditions becoming the first in the world to have gate-to-gate air traffic constraints removed. The flight not only arrived early but saved 4600 litres of fuel.
The flight was run in partnership with Airways NZ, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and Airservices Australia under an Asia South Pacific initiative to reduce emissions. The initiative touches every aspect of the flight from the time a plane spends taxiing on the ground to how quickly it climbs, its route and gliding into landing using minimal power.
In Europe, air traffic control rules and holdups are estimated to account for 12% of aircraft fuel around the world.
If the scheme was extended to the 156 flights a week between Australia, New Zealand and the United States and Canada, potential annual savings are in excess of 37 million litres of fuel or reduced CO2 emissions of over 100,000 tonnes.
Current position
Air New Zealand has become a world-leader in examining every aspect of its flight operations to reduce carbon emissions by saving fuel.
So far the flight operations programme has delivered 91,000 tonnes in reduced carbon emissions in just over three years. The original goal was 100,000 tonnes within five years.
Other developments
Air New Zealand has also recently announced that it is to double the number of available Pacific Premium Economy seats on its fleet of eight 777-200ER aircraft to meet what it says is unprecedented demand.
Expected to be reconfigured by June 2009, each aircraft will have an additional 18 Pacific Premium Economy seats taking the total available to 36.
It is the third increase in two years and Air New Zealand says it's reassuring to see that despite the challenging economic environment, 50% more travellers in the past year have been prepared to pay to travel premium economy.
New domestic service
A new domestic route from Masterton, in the lower North Island, to Auckland is likely to stimulate tourism in the Wairarapa region.
The new direct service, due to come into operation in February next year, will be operated six-days-a-week by Eagle Air, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand. It is expected to attract strong interest from business travellers and tourists wanting to visit Wairarapa - one of New Zealand’s leading wine regions.
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