Feature: Airline Update
Preserving the planet
Just as the global motor industry is striving to produce greener, cleaner vehicles on the ground to reduce carbon emissions, so too the world’s airlines are equally tackling the issue overhead.
Lufthansa claims to be the first carrier to operate flights using biofuel – a combination of standard kerosene and a propellant such as recycled cooking oil, which produces more power than conventional fuel. It is also the only airline to fly both the Airbus A380 and new Boeing 747-8, the most fuel- efficient aircraft in the sky.
They have also identified the need to cater to executives whose companies do not have the wherewithal to stump up for premium class air fares in an era of austerity.
Enter Premium Economy, a hybrid cabin offering a limited number of club class extras, combined with economy basics, at a more affordable price.
Already provided by the likes of BA, Virgin, Qantas, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Japan Airlines, Delta and United, the compromise product will have two further adherent as ANA and Cathay Pacific introduce their Premium Economy cabins this year. Flying between Tokyo and Heathrow, the ANA extras include 10% larger seat pitch than in Economy, an audio-visual on demand (AVOD) entertainment system, new meal options, and priority check-in. Travelling on selected flights between Hong Kong and Heathrow, Cathay’s mid- class passengers are welcomed aboard with champagne, benefit from a 38-inch seat pitch
Pictured: Airports too are undergoing significant improvements
– six inches more than Economy – and enjoy an enhanced selection of meals.
The increasing number of executives taking advantage of low-cost flights on short-haul routes can relax in the knowledge that what they see is usually what they get: no worries here about choosing between the meals on offer or whiling away the wait before take-off in an executive lounge with waiter service. The ongoing debate in the UK is capacity at Heathrow and Gatwick. To boost the economy and help the UK remain competitive in the global arena, a major hub to attract airlines and the world’s business community to Britain is vital, say the economic experts. The discussion is making headline news in the UK day after day.
Meanwhile, China is building 50 airports in the next five years, and many of the Gulf States have built new gateways. They regard aviation as not just an important industry, but a key driver in their economic strategy.” No doubt the resilient aviation industry will cope with such issues – even if the airlines must sometimes feel they are guests at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. •
www.onboardhospitality.com 31
Fellow German carrier airberlin is also taking care of the environment seriously. During the past year, it has achieved an average fuel consumption of 3.5 litres per 100 passenger kilometres flown, making it the most fuel efficient airline in Europe. Further demonstrations of the viability of alternative power sources came from Air Canada when it flew Canadian athletes to the London 2012 Olympics in July on an Airbus A330 making the first transatlantic flight using biofuel.
And in June this year, a KLM Boeing 777 flew delegates from Amsterdam to the Rio+20 sustainable development conference in Brazil on the longest-ever flight using the mix of propellants.
In the move towards saving fuel and
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, airlines are thinking twice about the composition of their fleets and phasing out older aircraft in favour of more environment-friendly aircraft. Singapore Airlines, for example, has retired all its passenger Boeing 747s, and United has ordered 150 new generation Boeing 737s.
©BAA Heathrow
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