How Airlines Are Going Green
Global warming has become a hot topic in the last ten years. One of the biggest attention grabbers in this topic has been the automotive industry. Cars and trucks are to blame for an enormous portion of the global output of green house gases; however, these cars and trucks move the most people and most weight of cargo. Air travel is nothing new, but at an efficiency standpoint, it is much more so than cars and trucks. In fact, airplanes expend about 85% of their total fuel for the flight during take-off. Airplanes are extremely efficient while at cruising altitude, in part from the altitude affecting the way the fuel is burnt off for energy.
Airlines are still pushing for more efficient and greener engines ever since the airline industry has been steadily slipping since 2001. With the high cost of oil and gasoline, this notion is all the more relevant as well. Mass transit has seen increases of usage ever since the hike in gasoline prices. Not only is it more affordable for those that need to travel, but it is also coincidentally more environmentally friendly. Think of it on the ground. A typical city bus can transport over 40 people at full capacity. Now break down this bus and you have roughly 40 vehicles operating, all going the same direction. Of course the mass transit system is more efficient. Airplanes work in this same fashion.
Companies such as Rolls Royce and General Electric have been striving to increase the efficiency of airline engines for years. Not only are the engines in question, but the general design of the aircraft. Many airliners have begun implementing changes in the design of their aircraft to increase efficiency. Even a little attachment on the side of the wing that requires no expensive or extensive construction has increased stability and efficiency by several percent. You may see these attachments already today on a variety of different airliners.
As mentioned earlier, the higher the altitude the better the fuel is expelled into the engine and thus gaining more power with less fuel. Most airplanes cruise at roughly 35,000 feet above sea level, but the FAA has allowed several different types of aircraft to cruise at over 40,000 feet above sea level to increase engine efficiency.
Being environmentally conservative often does not require a whole lot of work. Airlines have been doing their part to push the limits of efficiency, despite the fact they are already more efficient as transporting millions of people and millions of pounds of freight everyday than most methods in existence. Flying is not only the fastest method of reaching your destination, but apart from walking, it is already the most efficient.
Author: Tom Tessin
American Airlines Goes Green on Paris-Miami Flight
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American Airlines isn’t the only airline going green, however. Check out these sites to see what the competition is up to: Virgin Atlantic’s Sustainability Challenge, Delta’s.
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