AircraftOwner Online

Under pressure to cut carbon emissions and beef up fuel economy, the FAA and airline industry are examining a number of interesting proposals geared at making the industry more eco-friendly. While airline transportation currently accounts for only 2% of worldwide carbon emissions, "we are a very visible 2%," Paul Steele, director of environmental initiatives for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) told Time magazine (Oct. 19, 2009). Air transport associated carbon emissions are also expected to rise in the near future as air traffic increases in developing countries.

Here are some of the new ideas on the drawing boards:

• Jet biofuels made from algae and coconuts will cut carbon emissions. Test flights by Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic have been successful. Commercial availability is expected in 2010.
• Digitizing air traffic control will increase fuel efficiency. The FAA proposes to replace its current radar-based control system with a satellite/GPS system. Voice communication with control towers would be replaced by real time computer cockpit updates. Instead of relying on verbal control tower updates, pilots would be able to "see" and track air traffic around them.
• A satellite traffic control system could enable more direct flight paths, shaving minutes - and fuel and carbon emissions - from flight schedules.
• Using a continuous descent approach instead of the current stepped runway approach could cut fuel waste by allowing pilots to decrease thrust just once from as far as 40 miles out and "coast" in on a gentle descent path. UPS experiments have saved the freight carrier 250 to 465 pounds of fuel per flight.
• As a bonus to passengers, the FAA believes NextGen computerization could reduce flight delays by as much as 40%, saving another billion gallons of fuel.

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