23 April 2020:Etihad in its efforts to reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions and noise continues its sustainable initiatives to help cut carbon emissions. This year Etihad worked with Boeing, GE Aviation, EuroControl and others in the mission.
A part of the mission was the signature aircraft of the Etihad Greenliner Programme - a 'green-themed' Boeing 787. It was fuelled with a 30 per cent blend of sustainable aviation fuel, refined from agricultural waste. The aircraft was delivered from Boeing's North Carolina assembly plant.
Boeing engineers used the delivery flight to research new fuel efficiency measures, based on real time data from the aircraft, to maximize efficiency and minimize emissions by providing customized data to the pilots.
Recently the Etihad Greenliner operated an optimized round-trip flight between Abu Dhabi and Dublin, reducing the usual journey time by 40 minutes, cutting fuel consumption by 800 kilograms and reducing carbon emissions by three tonnes over a standard Boeing 787 flight on that route.
Etihad has also implemented a range of other sustainability measures, including the use of data to determine the optimal volumes of potable water for aircraft toilets and washrooms, and 'taxi fuel' to power the aircraft on the ground. By customizing volumes of both, the airline is reducing significantly the weight of aircraft on many routes, helping to reduce fuel burn and emissions.
The sustainable performance of this Boeing 787 flight was also measured against the same flight one year prior, which was operated with a less efficient aircraft type. Compared to the 2019 flight, the 2020 service operated with eight tonnes less fuel and a staggering 26 tonne reduction in carbon emissions.
During the grounding of its scheduled passenger flights, Etihad has also been testing single-engine taxi-in of Boeing 787 aircraft without using the aircraft's auxiliary power unit (APU), again with more sustainable outcomes.
Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, "In these challenging times, and beyond Covid-19, our response to the climate change crisis will not be neglected. Earlier this year, we pledged a target of net zero emissions by 2050, and to halve our 2019 net emission levels by 2035. Through the Etihad Greenliner Programme, we remain committed to reducing our impact on the environment, in collaboration with partners across the aviation industry."
Etihad Airways has continued to progress its sustainability agenda, testing a range of initiatives during the wind-down and suspension of its scheduled passenger services in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.