Airservices Australia, Airways New Zealand and the US Federal Aviation Administration will conduct a series of "green flights" with airline partners from the end of August as part of the service providers' Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (Aspire) partnership.
The three air traffic service providers signed the Aspire agreement earlier this year in a move designed to accelerate the development of air traffic control procedures that will reduce aviation's environmental footprint. The alliance is of three service providers that have been at the forefront of developing and implementing air traffic management initiatives with the environment in mind. It is expected to lead to improved environmental performance and operational procedures in Asia and the South Pacific.
The green flights, which will be the first joint Aspire activity, will demonstrate optimum trajectory operations, says Airservices Australia chief executive Greg Russell. Three green flights will be operated by Air New Zealand, Qantas and United Airlines.
The first flight will be at the end of August, by an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 between Auckland and San Francisco. The flight will be based on environmental considerations from gate to gate. Auckland air traffic control will manage engine start, push back and taxi procedures to minimise ground running time. The aircraft will have priority clearance, giving it an unimpeded taxi and take-off, minimising holding on the ground.
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On departure, the aircraft will have an unimpeded climb to cruise height, enabling it to reach the most efficient flight profile quickly and more efficiently in terms of fuel use. Cruise will be at the optimum altitude for the aircraft's weight and engine settings. The flight will include user preferred routes for optimal wind conditions and dynamic airborne reroute procedure to make use of updated wind forecasts en route and allowing the aircraft to change flightpath to take advantage of favourable winds.
The aircraft will make a continuous descent arrival into San Francisco and on landing it will have the same taxi and arrivals priority as at departure to avoid holding and queuing.
Similar flights by Qantas and United will follow.
Source: Flight International
