Roger Lu
Every day, over 100,000 aircraft takeoff and land across the world. As technology develops, this number increases and is now approaching nearly 40,000,000 flights a year. From short-haul flights such as Dallas/Fort Worth to Austin to ultra-long-haul routes flights like Perth to London, all of these flights contribute to the 2.4% of global human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. In order to counter aviation’s growing CO2 emissions which are projected to triple by 2050, leading airlines and aircraft manufacturers are taking measures to become carbon-neutral and enhance the efficiency of next-generation aircraft.
Aviation’s Current Environmental Sustainability Innovations:
The Manufacturers:
In the past decade, major manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing have developed new aircraft to combat rising carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide/nitric oxide (NOx) emissions.
Boeing:
The Boeing Company, one of the two major aircraft manufacturing corporations in the world, has produced two innovative families of aircraft which exist today - the revolutionary 787 Dreamliner and the unfortunate 737 MAX.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-size, twin-engine widebody capable of flying some of the world’s longest routes. The 787 intended to replace the aging and less fuel-efficient 767, a previous Boeing aircraft that’s currently being retired by many airlines. Approximately 10 years ago, the 787 took flight for the first time before entering service a few years later. The 787 is known for being created with 50% composite materials, which reduces the the weight of the aircraft and offers 20-25% lower CO2 emissions, reduced NOx emissions, and 60% less noise pollution compared to similarly-sized aircraft. The 787 is one of the two revolutionary long-haul aircraft currently flying as airlines - such as American Airlines - have chosen the 787 to replace and phase out their older, less environmentally-friendly aircraft. Just three days ago on February 25, 2020, All Nippon Airways, the world’s largest operator of the 787, placed an order for 20 more of Boeing’s 787 aircraft to emphasize the airline’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
In addition to the 787, Boeing also produced the new and infamous 737 MAX to compete with Airbus’ (another global aircraft manufacturer) A320neo Family aircraft. While the 737 MAX’s name has a negative connotation as it fatally crashed twice in the past year killing 346 people, led to a worldwide grounding of the aircraft, and caused thousands of flights to be cancelled, it was another innovation for sustainable flight. There are currently around 5,000 orders for the Boeing 737 MAX (subject to change) which will replace aging narrow-body aircraft like Boeing’s previous 737 model, the 737 Next Generation. With its efficient CFM LEAP-1B engines, the 737 MAX delivers a 14% reduction in carbon emissions, 40% noise reduction, and is 50% below the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection’s (CAEP) NOx limits.
Airbus:
On the side of the world, there’s Airbus, a European company that recently overtook Boeing in 2019 as the world’ largest airline manufacturer. The company also produced two families of revolutionary aircraft which are flying today: the A320neo and A350.
The A320neo, consisting of the A319neo, A320neo, and A321neo is Airbus’ solution to replacing older narrow-body aircraft. The A320neo is simply a re-engined version of the old A320 family as the “neo” in the name stands for “New Engine Option”. With its new CFM LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines, the A320neo Family is able to deliver around a 20% reduction in carbon emissions or 5,000 tons of carbon per year, 50% reduced noise production, and is 50% below the CAEP’s NOx limits.
Additionally, Airbus has created the elegant A350XWB, a wide-body aircraft which currently flies the world’s longest flight, Singapore and Newark, and potentially 20-hour ultra-long-haul routes such as direct Sydney to London in the near future. The A350 consists of lightweight materials and the world’s current most fuel-efficient engine, the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. As a result, these new technologies allow the A350 to have a 25%-30% lower fuel burn and CO2 emissions, 40% noise reduction, and 28% below the CAEP’s NOx limits when compared to previous generation aircraft.
The Airlines:
Aircraft manufacturers aren’t the only leaders in environmentally-sustainable aviation as airlines are also taking measures to reduce their own CO2 and NOx emissions when operating flights.
JetBlue:
JetBlue, a major U.S. airline headquartered in Long Island, has been working on offsetting its CO2 emissions since 2008. Its carbon offsetting program includes projects such as forest conservation, landfill gas capture (LFG), and promoting solar and wind farms. JetBlue has recently announced they will completely offset all CO2 emissions from jet fuel on domestic JetBlue flights. Additionally, the airline intends to begin using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on flights from San Francisco Airport later this year. SAF is produced from 100% waste and residue raw materials with an 80% lower carbon footprint compared to the current fossil fuel-based jet fuel. On top of this, JetBlue has committed to enhancing its fleet with over 85 of Airbus’ efficient and more environmentally-friendly A321neo aircraft.
Delta Air Lines:
In addition to JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, the world’s second largest airline based in Atlanta, has committed $1 billion for a 10-year plan to reduce all emissions from March 2020 and onward. Delta will invest this money to promote innovation for clean air travel technologies and accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions and waste. Since 2005, the airline has reduced over 11% of emissions with electric ground vehicles and newer aircraft. 98% of Delta’s emissions are coming from its aircraft, so they will be investing in a more environmentally-friendly fleet with the Airbus A350XWB, A321neo and Airbus’ other new narrow-body aircraft, the A220. One of Delta’s carbon offsetting programs supports projects such as Conservation Coast, a 54,000 hectare conservation that provides sustainable benefits for communities. Additionally, Delta has become more conservative by reducing single-use plastics such as stir sticks, wrappers, utensils, and straws by replacing them with reusable alternatives. They’ve also unveiled brand-new First/Business Class amenity kits to remove the plastic outer wrap, which has avoided 30,000 pounds of plastic waste from landfills in one year. Delta was also the first airline in the United States to recycle service items from aircraft such as drinking cups, bottles, and magazines. In the past 10 years, Delta has recycled more than three million pounds of aluminum and other materials from waste. Similarly to JetBlue, Delta also announced a $2 million investment for sustainable airplane fuel, which is expected to supply Delta’s flights in airports like Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles starting this year.
Trains Over Planes:
Personally, I believe planes are better than trains for a multitude of reasons. However, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, an airline based in Amsterdam, recently announced they would replace one of five daily flights between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Brussels Airport with a train service operated by Thales and NS Dutch Railways in order to promote a sustainable future. KLM’s “Fly Responsibly” program, which promotes CO2 reductions and biofuel, continues to grow with this train service. Not only would the environment benefit, but KLM will now have the ability to expand its route network as Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is a highly slot-constrained airport meaning flights are limited to and from the airport.
Similarly to KLM’s plan, the Catalan government in Spain would like to completely scrap every flight between Barcelona and Madrid. The government claims the train emits zero emissions and has a similar travel time to a flight from Barcelona to Madrid. While this promotes sustainability, airlines operating flights between the two airports will be economically affected as this flight is lucrative to their networks with over 2.5 million passengers in a year traveling between the two airports.
Aviation’s Future Environmental Sustainability Innovations:
With the current innovations in environmentally-friendly technology, there’s no doubt improvements will continue to rise.
For example, airlines will soon be flying Boeing’s newest model and the world’s largest twin-engine aircraft, the 777X, which delivers 10% lower emissions compared to the current competition.
On the other hand, Airbus is planning to use the aerodynamics of geese to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This is possible by using aircraft to replicate the “V” pattern migrating geese fly in. When birds flap their wings, air flows over the wings and swirls upwards behind it. This creates a wake, which is kinetic energy in the form of air movement. Geese fly in a V pattern to save energy by exploiting “wake-energy retrieval” when flying. Similarly, airplanes also create a wake when flying, so Airbus is planning to take advantage of this by having aircraft fly three kilometers apart to save fuel and reduce emissions.
The Future Of Electric Aircraft:
While current aircraft use fossil fuels to power flights, Airbus’ next project is the “E-Fan X”, an electric commercial four-engined aircraft designed to jump towards zero-emissions in the next 20 years. The E-Fan X is a complex hybrid-electric aircraft demonstrator with four engines powered by electric propulsion units with batteries and generators. Airbus’ motivation for creating electric aircraft is to achieve a 50% reduction in aircraft CO2 emissions by 2050.
Conclusion:
Overall, the aviation industry will become more sustainable as innovations continue to prosper.
What do you think the future of aviation will rely on? Could electric aircraft be the solution to emissions or could airplanes be replaced entirely? Do you think trains should replace airplanes? What do you suggest airlines should do to reduce or eliminate emissions?
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