The world’s airlines have committed to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020 and globally, airlines are looking to implement new initiatives and incentives to keep up with industry and reduce their carbon footprint.
German airline Lufthansa said it has been reporting its environmental initiatives since 1994, and is looking to take things to the next level to be a driver of change.
For example, the airline will be undertaking the largest investment program in its corporate history to advance its fleet.
Frank Puttmann, Head of Corporate Communications (Asia-Pacific) with Lufthansa, said: “An investment to a modern and technologically advanced fleet is (not just) very good for the cash box first of all, but also for the environment (as well), and that is also the reason we are running the largest investment program in our corporate history ever.
“We are about to spend 15 billion euros within the next year on fleet modernisation, and one of the examples that is well known to Singapore already is of course, the Airbus A380 which is the most environmentally friendly aircraft. In our fleet, it consumes less than three litres per one passenger on 100 kilometres, which is much less then the average fuel consumption of a car - so that shows how important the developments have been in our industry.”
Later this year, the airline is also scheduled to become the world’s first airline to use bio-synthetic fuel on a commercial flight. One of the aircraft’s engines will use a 50-50 mix of biofuel and traditional kerosene.
The six-month trial on flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt will examine the effects of biofuels on engine maintenance and engine life and determine the feasibility of regular flight operations using biofuel. For the duration of the trial, Lufthansa estimates it will save 1,500 tonnes in CO2 emissions.
Mr Puttmann said: “We are interested in finding alternatives to the fossil fuel that we had to use in the past just because of the lack of alternatives. There are currently no real alternatives, so we have to develop those alternatives and it doesn’t make sense to sit around and wait for someone to develop the solution.
“Our approach is we want to be part of the solution and we want to be the driving force - that is the reason we are now together with the German government. We have to find out how do we get that fuel. We are working together with a Finnish producer of biofuels and of course, you have to consider the effects that the new fuel might have on the environment for example. There is a lot of speed into this issue right now and we are keen on sharing this with our partners.”
Lufthansa said for the moment, it favours Jatropha biofuel and an oil made of animal fat.
Among its fuel efficiency targets, the airline is aiming for 10 per cent of its fuels to be made up of biofuel by 2020.
The immediate target is to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 per cent. Already, the airline has increased its fuel efficiency by over 30 per cent since 1991.
