Technology

Air New Zealand Strives for Eco-Leadership

posted: 20 June 2008 07:42 pm ET

: In addition to being a customer for the Boeing 787-9 two 777 variants, Air New Zealand is involved in biofuel partnerships with Boeing and Rolls-Royce. A near-term project should see the airline perform a biofuel-powered flight before the end of 2008, while another partnership is pursuing the development of algae-based biofuel. Credit: Boeing Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the flag carrier of a largely unspoiled nation which has firmly embraced ecological preservation as a key part of its economy, Air New Zealand intends to stay at the forefront of the civil aviation industry's movement towards total environmental sustainability.

Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of New Zealand's total economy and workforce, as do forestry, agriculture and the dairy industry, according to Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air New Zealand. Because of this, and because of its geographical isolation from any other nation, New Zealand is determined to preserve its environment. As New Zealand's largest technology investor and retail marketer, so is its largest airline.

"We realized that, because of the remoteness and the carbon footprint of getting to New Zealand, we needed to be a leader" in aviation environmentalism, Fyfe said at the Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Air Transport World magazine and aviation consulting firm Leeham Company LLC, the June 19-June 20 event was the first aviation environmental forum to be held in the United States.

Several years ago Air New Zealand decided "We wouldn't hide behind science or debate the issue," said Fyfe. "We decided, if it mattered to our customers, we'd make damn sure it mattered to us."

No corporate activity left untouched

In terms of reviewing its business procedures in terms of their sustainability, this has meant to Air New Zealand that "nothing has been left untouched over the last three to four years, as the customers decide what they don't want and embrace what they do," Fyfe said.

Going by the credo that "fuel conservation is both an imperative environmentally and an opportunity economically," and the knowledge that the more fuel an aircraft carries, the more it has to burn simply to carry the fuel weight, Air New Zealand regularly provides all its pilots with graphs of its pilots' discretionary fuel uplift.

This is the amount of extra fuel a pilot chooses to have pumped into the aircraft's tanks to maintain sufficient reserves for diversions, weather holds, and varies from pilot to pilot depending on the pilot's conservatism regarding such situations.

The graphs show where each pilot stands compared with his or her peers. "It has become quite a competitive area," said Fyfe. While maintaining operational safety, "some of our more conservative pilots" have become willing to load less reserve fuel than they used to, when they see their colleagues' attitudes to reserve-fuel uplift and how these attitudes work operationally.

Air New Zealand is now burning 36 million liters of fuel a year less than it used to and compared with previous annual performance has emitted 100,000 fewer tonnes of CO2 in the last two years. The airline has reached this level two years ahead of the emissions-savings schedule it set itself four years ago, said Fyfe.

Green teams and carbonless days

Air New Zealand has established "Green Teams" and so far 2,000 of its 11,000 employees have signed up as active members, establishing and maintaining a growing number of corporate and onboard waste recycling and sustainability initiatives.

The carrier regularly denominates "carbonless days," when its office employees — including Fyfe — are not allowed to use cars to get to and from work. It also holds "environmental market days" in its headquarters offices at Auckland and at the city's airport, at which vendors promote and sell environmentally sustainable products.

Like many other airlines, Air New Zealand offers a voluntary carbon-emission-offsetting scheme, by means of which passengers making bookings can choose to pay extra amounts that go to funds operating from New Zealand that invest in Kyoto Protocol-compliant projects. To date, only about 1 percent of passengers are choosing to make offset payments, said Fyfe; this figure is closely in line with what other airlines in the United States and Europe are seeing.

However, two months ago Air New Zealand also established an environmental trust, towards which passengers, staff and the airline itself can make payments. The trust's first project is a model sustainable sheep and beef farm, which the airline is encouraging passengers to visit as they tour New Zealand, said Fyfe.

Some time ago Air New Zealand made a sustainability video, which it shows on all its flights. "Many of our best initiatives and ideas come from our customers, after they have seen the video," commented Fyfe.

Air New Zealand's biofuel aims

At the heart of Air New Zealand's sustainability effort has been its determination to identify a technically viable, non-foodstock-competitive biofuel that also has "genuine commercial potential." For now, the airline has selected Jatropha oil because of the 40-to-50-percent lower carbon footprint it offers compared with today's jet fuel and because of the Jatropha plant's ability to grow in eroded, non-arable areas unsuitable for food production.

Air New Zealand expects to operate a biofuel-powered flight later this year, in partnership with Boeing and Rolls-Royce. "We've set a goal of 10 percent of our needs being met by biofuel by 2013," said Fyfe, noting that this amount represents some 1 million barrels of fuel annually.

With nearly an 80-percent share of New Zealand's domestic air transport market, Air New Zealand is in a strong position to promote biofuel use with the country, said Fyfe.

"Our target of growing our biofuel capability within our fleet is much more likely to be realized within our domestic fleet, because we are effectively the industry," he said. "Things are much more complex internationally because of different regulations and fuels, but (as an industry) we can use different 'geographies' round the world as test beds."

The airline also has joined an organization led by Boeing to promote development of algae-based biofuel. "Algae has the most exciting potential of any biofuel" in the longer term, said Fyfe. "We would love to be using New Zealand-produced biofuel. Algae probably represents the best opportunity for New Zealand conditions."