Emirates Airline Completes Low-Tech ‘Green Flight’

December 18, 2008

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A Emirates Airline flight from Dubai to San Francisco International Airport is being billed as the longest green flight in the world, covering more than 8,000 miles, TerraPass reports.

The airline spent three months planning the flight to maximize fuel savings and reduce GHG emissions. Prior to taking off in Dubai, the airline washed the plane to reduce air friction, removed unnecessary weight from inside the plane, used auxiliary power from the airport terminal instead of power generated by the jet engines, and employed a tug vehicle to take the plane from the gate to the runway.

Through these efforts, the airline was able to reduce flight time from 16 hours to a little over 15 hours, cut fuel by 6 percent and save 40,000 pounds of GHG emissions.

Last month, a United Airlines flight also used low-tech methods to cut fuel use and emissions.

Airlines are also slowing down to save on fuel. In May, Southwest Airlines said it would save $42 million in fuel this year by extending each flight by one to three minutes.

Other airlines, such as Japan Airline, British Airways, and Continental Airlines are also planning green flights through the use of biofuels.

Virgin Atlantic flew one of its Boeing 747 jumbo jets on biofuel from Heathrow to Amsterdam. That test happened shortly after Airbus flew an A380 using a liquid fuel processed from gas.

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