New eco-technologies power American Airlines test flight

Read more about: air travel, airlines, alternative fuel, American Airlines, carbon, fuel

Lean and green: that was the goal for American Airlines Flight 63.

The trans-Atlantic Boeing 767-300 flight from Paris to Miami yesterday morning made American the first U.S. airline to test next-generation technology and procedures that will significantly reduce carbon emissions and save fuel on trans-Atlantic routes as outlined in the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE).

AIRE, a joint initiative among the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Commission (EC), and several international airlines, is designed to speed up application of new technologies and operational procedures, which have a direct impact on reducing carbon emissions and noise pollution as well as conserving fuel.

Part of the AIRE project includes gate-to-gate flight demonstrations to test the benefits of technologies that will be used with the FAA’s NextGen and the EC’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) air traffic management systems.

“It is critical that the aviation industry work with our Air Traffic Control partners to demonstrate the benefits of NextGen technology today,” said Bob Reding, American’s Executive Vice President – Operations. “By implementing this technology as quickly as possible, we can make real and meaningful strides to reduce our impact on the environment, increase system capacity and reduce air traffic delays.”

Putting tomorrow’s technology to the test

The flight was conducted using several fuel conservation measures, including single-engine taxi on departure and arrival, continuous climb-out and descent, optimized routing over water, and a “tailored arrival.”

Among those procedures are several key elements of Fuel Smart, American’s existing fuel conservation program. In 2010, American aims to increase its annual fuel savings rate to 120 million gallons, which will also reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 billion pounds.

Post-flight data analysis by the FAA, EC and American will determine the carbon and fuel savings gained on the demonstration flight. The FAA and American have conducted trials in Miami since last year to determine the best way to use the next-generation technology.

“Utilizing NextGen technology is also a crucial part of American’s overall environmental and fuel savings efforts,” added Reding, “which have already yielded annual fuel savings of more than 110 million gallons and a reduction of 2.2 billion pounds of carbon emissions

A longtime leader in air travel efficiency, American Airlines pioneered the routine use of two-engine aircraft on trans-oceanic flights, which fundamentally changed air operations. Up to that point, almost all international flights were flown by three- and four-engine aircraft.

American’s efforts to open up the Atlantic to two-engine aircraft heavily influenced Boeing and Airbus to build two-engine aircraft for international flights, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions and greater fuel efficiency across the industry.

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