Having spent some time looking at emissions relating to aviation and people's perceptions about aviation and climate change, I aim to now investigate what steps are being made to make aviation greener.
In the video I posted in the second blog post, Willie Walsh talks about the responsibility the aviation industry faces to continually innovate and improve its environmental impact. As a slightly different introduction into this, I am posting a video that commercial aircraft manufacturer, Boeing posted on their YouTube channel a couple of months ago.
In the video, they show how they are developing cabin interiors made out of the flax plant, commonly used in the production of cloth as a way of minimising their environmental impact, yet not compromising on performance or safety.
I believe it is a small step in terms of the overall negative impact aircraft emissions have on the atmosphere (I've not even considered anything else but the aircraft flying - the environmental impact of an airport or manufacturing a plane for instance). However it demonstrates well the continuous strive for improvement, and the effort going into the development of more environmentally friendly materials.
It seems there is much self evaluation on what can be made better as the environment is a word so closely tied with aviation in the minds of many people today. Although as has been stressed in the posts looking at peoples perceptions, technological change alone is not sufficient in making reality the ambitious goals set for aviation related emissions reduction.
Hey cool post Haymish! I think it's really important to have more eco friendly planes. I've seen some cool things about the future of flying like this CPI video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga3PMsrHpjU
ReplyDeleteDo you think these new style planes are close to being a reality?
Thats a cool video! Thats the only thing I've ever seen about actually removing the windows! I'm not sure it would go down well with customer satisfaction though - what if the tv wall stopped working mid flight?! don't think that would go down well! In terms of passenger experience, I know that HD tv screens, live tv and in flight internet will continue to become more and more common as airlines continue to review their fleets and stay competitive.
ReplyDeleteWe are living in quite a good time for eco friendly planes, many new aircraft, that have been years in the making will start entering commercial service, with the aim of replacing older, less efficient planes. You've probably heard of Boeing's Dreamliner (787), Airbus delivered their first a350 in December 2014, a project which has been going on since 2004 in answer to the Dreamliner. Boeing is developing a new generation of the Boeing 777, and there's the double decker Airbus a380 - all of which will or do use the latest materials and technologies to reduce their environmental impact and enhance the passenger experience (in the long haul flying market).
I was on a flight the other day and at end they said 'in line with out constant commitment to environmental care we will be recycling any newspapers left on the front seats' and I just thought wants the bloody point! Do you have any numbers for how efficient the a380
ReplyDeleteIs compared to previous and similar models?!? I heard somewhere it's practically carbon neutral which I find extremely hard to believe ;)
Well I hope you recycled your newspaper!!
ReplyDeleteThe a380 came into service in 2007, it can carry 40% more people (around 500) than its direct competition, the Boeing 747. Most airlines have been using this extra space on providing a premium experience for First and Business class passengers! so it doesn't carry as many more people as probably intended.
According to Airbus, the a380 "burns 22% less fuel per seat than its nearest competitor, translating to 22% fewer CO2 emissions. For further comparison, 105 kg. of fuel will be saved per passenger on a Paris-Tokyo round trip flight" (http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/passengeraircraft/a380family/environment/emissions/). It is also much quieter.
This BBC fact file on the a380 is a nice summary of the project:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11693164