Sky goes green

Call it innovation out of desperation. The fluctuating aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices and the dire need to reduce carbon emissions have made airlines look for alternate solutions.
After British airline Virgin Atlantic’s first experiment with green fuel made out of coconut and babassu in February last year, a number of other carriers including Continental Airlines, Air New Zealand, Japan Airline, Air France, Gulf Air, KLM have also tried similar experiments this year. In October 2009, Qatar Airways flew its first commercial flight with passengers using synthetic fuel made from natural gas. And the list is growing longer.
Carriers such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Lat­in America-based GOL will soon join the bandwagon.
“Like many other industries, aviation is under increasing social and regulatory pressure to reduce emissions and improve environmental performance. Coupled with continued fluctuations in petroleum prices, it ma­kes good business sense to begin to commercialise sustainable fu­el sources that can re­duce emissions over their lifetime, while offering alternatives to fossil-based fuels. We anticipate airlines will begin using bio-fuels on a regular basis within the ne­xt three-five year,’’ Dinesh A Keskar, president, Boeing India, said.
European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, believes that by 2030, up to 30 per cent of fuel will be alternative. Moving towards that direction, Ger­many-based carrier Lufthansa is actively exploring the potential of alternative fuels. The airline has set itself a target of adding 5-10 per cent of synthetic fuel to conventional kerosene by 2020.
07/12/09 Parul Chhaparia/mydigitalfc.com

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Dec 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2009, New Dec 2009