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Alaska Airlines is demonstrating the emissions-saving potential of next-generation flight procedures during a series of test flights. It is now seeking FAA approval for the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures, which are based on satellite guidance technology. RNP could ultimately be used by all properly equipped carriers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), where the trials are taking place.

The most recent test flight over Puget Sound, using a 737-700, burned less fuel and reduced emissions by 35 per cent compared to a conventional landing. With a landing weight similar to a typical passenger flight, the shorter and more efficient approaches reduced carbon emissions and saved 400 pounds of fuel per approach.

Testing for the project began last summer, and Alaska Airlines has since flown two other demonstration flights and submitted more than half of the proposed procedures for FAA review. Alaska estimates the new procedures will cut fuel consumption by 2.1 million gallons annually and reduce carbon emissions by 22,000 metric tons at Sea-Tac. Overflight noise will be reduced for an estimated 750,000 people living below the affected flight corridor.

"Sea-Tac is the ideal location to pursue this cutting-edge project," said Ben Minicucci, Alaska's chief operating officer. "Seattle has the highest percentage of advanced RNP-equipped planes in the nation, and – working with the FAA – Alaska Airlines, Boeing and the Port of Seattle are committed to making 'Greener Skies' a reality as soon as possible. Ultimately this project could serve as a blueprint for next-generation aviation technology throughout the country."

Planning and testing of the procedures will continue throughout the remainder of 2010 and will be integrated into Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air's commercial operations at Sea-Tac, pending FAA approval.

jason.holland@ubmaviation.com

Complete Integrated Certification Services (CICS) is set to receive United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation. It will cover greenhouse gas verification of tonne/kilometre & emissions data for aircraft operators under the European Union Emissions Trading (EU ETS) scheme. Under the terms of the scheme, aircraft operators will have to monitor their emissions from 1 January 2010 until 31 December 2010, and then have these emissions independently verified prior to submission of reports by 31 March 2011. In addition, if they wish to apply for free carbon allowances under the scheme they will be required to submit verified tonne kilometre data. “It’s important that the verification process is started as early as possible,” said Shaun Bainbridge, a director at CICS. “That way, any problems with data collection and monitoring can be ironed out well in advance, ensuring that fines for late reporting are avoided.”

Tour operator TUI is hoping its new campaign to encourage holidaymakers to pack lightly will save more than 7,500 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. TV ‘celebrity’ stylist Brix Smith-Start will participate in the campaign by advising on an ‘ideal holiday capsule suitcase’. TUI says the campaign is based on research commissioned by its subsidiary Thomson, which found that half of travellers don’t think about the impact they have on the planet when packing their bags. TUI estimates that if the weight of passengers’ suitcases was reduced by 25 per cent, 7,537 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be cut every year. “Everyone wants to look fabulous when they are on holiday," said Smith-Start. "Yet too many of us don’t think about what outfits we’ll actually want to wear and so we end up with clothes that won’t see the light of day once we are away." Her advice includes such pearls of wisdom as checking weather forecasts before travel and buying towels at the destination rather than packing them.

The National Research Council Canada Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC Aerospace) has completed tests on Semi-Synthetic Jet Fuel (SSJF). A General Electric (GE) F404-400 augmented turbofan engine was tested, which is currently operated in the Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet aircraft. The project objectives were to compare the performance, operability and emission characteristics of this engine using a 50/50 blend of Fischer-Tropsch (FT) derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) and NATO F-34 (JP-8) fuels and to ensure military aviation fuel interoperability among relevant nations. NRC researchers observed no significant differences in engine operability and performance characteristics. However, emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides were slightly higher compared to conventional Jet A1 fuel. Conversely, the use of SSJF showed a considerable reduction in sulphur dioxide and particulate matter mass emissions, and an improvement in specific fuel consumption of the engine was also recorded.

The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) is totally opposed to a proposal by the German government to introduce a tax on each individual airline passenger from 1 January 2011. The association warned that while the supposed objective of the proposed tax is to provide incentives for environmentally-efficient behaviour, there is “negligible evidence” that it will have the desired effect. “The unavoidable consequence of a per passenger tax means that empty aircraft will pay no tax, whilst more efficient aircraft that fly at full capacity will be unfairly penalised,” said ELFAA secretary-general John Hanlon. “Therefore, far from its stated objective, this law will actually incentivise inefficient operators and distort competition in favour of inefficient carriers.”

Avianca-TACA has become the latest member of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG). The group is focused on supporting the development, certification and commercial use of aviation fuels that come from economic and socially sustainable raw materials. Twenty airlines – representing more than 20 per cent of global fuel demand – are currently members of SAFUG.

Airbus has unveiled a concept aircraft which shows what air transport could look like in 2050. Ultra long and slim wings, semi-embedded engines, a U-shaped tail, and a lightweight ‘intelligent’ body are among the features of the aircraft, which was designed with environmental efficiency firmly in mind.

The Airbus design brief was to meet the expectations of the passengers of the future, taking aircraft materials, aerodynamics, cabins and engines into consideration. Images of the aircraft were displayed at this week’s Farnborough Air Show. Charles Champion, executive vice president engineering at Airbus, said aspects of the aircraft could become reality by 2030 if advancements in existing technologies continue apace, although 2050 was the stated timeframe.

“The Airbus Concept Plane represents an engineer’s dream about what an aircraft could look like in the long term future. It’s not a real aircraft and all the technologies it features, though feasible, are not likely to come together in the same manner,” said Champion. “Here we are stretching our imagination and thinking beyond our usual boundaries. With the Airbus Concept Plane we want to stimulate young people from all over the world to engage with us so that we can continue to share the benefits of air transport while also looking after the environment.”

Airbus also gazed into the future of aircraft interiors when designing the radical aircraft. Among the ideas it incorporates are morphing seats made from ecological, self-cleaning materials, which change shape for “a snug fit”; walls that become see-through at the touch of a button, affording 360 degree views of the world below; and holographic projections of virtual decors. And some of the systems onboard the 2050 aircraft will be powered by ‘green’ energy sources, such as fuel cells, solar panels or even our own body heat.

It is a rather fantastic vision of the future; it will need to be matched by an equally fantastic commitment to innovation and development!

jason.holland@ubmaviation.com

Boeing has launched its ‘ecoDemonstrator’ programme, which is intended to accelerate the availability of environmental technologies for aviation applications. The programme will test new technology for higher fuel efficiency, noise reduction and greater operational efficiency, and is partly based on the FAA’s ‘Continuous Lower Energy Emissions Noise’ (CLEEN) scheme, for which Boeing recently won a $25m contract. Technologies in development for the CLEEN scheme include ceramic matrix composite acoustic engine nozzles, advanced inlets, and adaptive wing trailing edge flaps that can help reduce fuel consumption and noise during the take-off, climb and landing phases of flight. The ecoDemonstrator programme will also include collaborative work with IHI Aerospace of Japan to evaluate regenerative fuel cell technology for onboard auxiliary power applications. Boeing plans to test the technology on a 737NG in 2012 and conduct a second series of flights aboard a twin-aisle aircraft in 2013.

Rolls-Royce has received a $16m contract award as part of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions & Noise (CLEEN) technologies programme. Under the contract, Rolls-Royce will perform aero engine test demonstrations specifically focused on reduced fuel burn technologies and evaluating alternative aviation fuels. The goals established by the FAA’s CLEEN programme are to achieve a 33 per cent reduction in fuel burn, against a baseline of current performance technology, by 2015, and to advance sustainable alternative aviation fuels in the same timeframe.

A consortium led by Saskatchewan-based Targeted Growth Canada (TGC) plans to conduct a biofuel test flight with a Porter Airlines Q400 turboprop by early 2012. The fuel will be based on the oilseed crop camelina. The other programme participants are Bombardier Aerospace, Honeywell’s UOP, Sustainable Oils, and Pratt & Whitney Canada. The aircraft is equipped with PW150A engines.