Airline Initiative Could Cut Carbon Emissions

Virgin Atlantic chief Sir Richard Branson has set out his airline’s global vision for radically more efficient aircraft movements around the world’s busiest airports. It involves changes that would mean aircraft burn considerably less fuel and emit much lower levels of CO2, dramatically improving air quality on the ground and in the air.

At the heart of the proposal is the creation of “starting grids” for all aircraft departures. A starting grid is a holding area, close to the runway, consisting of several parking bays for aircraft. It means that aircraft can be towed closer to a runway before take-off, substantially reducing the time that engines need to be running.

Speaking recently in New York, he called on the global aviation industry to develop a shared solution to the increasingly important issue of climate change.

Under the starting grids proposal, an aircraft for departure would be towed by a small tug from its stand, only starting its engines once on the holding area, about 10 minutes before take-off. This would substantially reduce the amount of time that aircraft need to taxi with their engines running before take-off.

Later, in an interview in London, Sir Richard said: “I am really pleased that we are already receiving support for this concept from BAA [British Airports Authority] at Gatwick and Heathrow, as well as Los Angeles and JFK airports. We hope several more of the world’s busiest airports will look seriously at cutting CO2 emissions while aircraft are moving between runways and their gates.”

He told ABTN (Air Business & Travel News) how the idea was born at 3am on a freezing morning in Prague in a trailer on the set of the new James Bond film, Casino Royale, as he sat with colleagues from Virgin Atlantic waiting to shoot their cameo roles in the movie.

Discussion turned from global super-spy to global warming - “One of our pilots complained about a crazy situation at New York’s JFK airport,” explained Branson. “One of our departing flights is forced to taxi for an average of 70 minutes, most days of the year, because of the enormous congestion in the peak evening slots. With the engines running, the 747-400 burns far more fuel than it needs to as it waits in line behind 20 or so other aircraft heading for the runway. All of them are churning out damaging emissions.”

He added: “Let’s face it – there isn’t much chance that this congestion is going to improve soon. So, it needs the airlines to push for changes in operating procedures if we are to cut carbon emissions and tackle global warming.

“Which takes us back to the trailer on the James Bond set in Prague. After sketching out the congestion at JFK on the back of a script, Captain Dave Kistruck suggested the concept of the ‘starting grid’ at the world’s busiest airports.

“Aircraft, instead of taxi-ing with their engines running, could be towed to the grid, or allocated parking bays, by electric tug, then wait for clearance to start their engines, run them for a few minutes so they could warm up, and then proceed directly to the runway for take-off.

“It would save millions of tonnes of fuel per year and substantially cut CO2 emissions if all aircraft at the busiest airports behaved this way. The technology exists today for towing aircraft efficiently, thereby contributing to saving our planet,” he added. The UK airline chief said that the Virgin Group plans to invest three billion US dollars in renewable energy initiatives over the next 10 years.

Sir Richard revealed that he has written to other airlines, engine and aircraft manufacturers and airport operators urging them to support a new cross-industry forum that will help to deliver practical ways of tackling climate change.

In his letter to aviation industry leaders, Sir Richard wrote: “We need to accelerate the pace at which we reduce aviation’s impact on the environment. We cannot ignore that aviation does create environmental problems (around two per cent of global CO2 emissions), although, equally, it produces significant economic and social benefits (eight per of the world’s GDP)”

The starting grid system would make airport movements much more efficient and would reduce fuel consumption and on-the-ground carbon emissions by more than 50 per cent ahead of take-off at London’s Heathrow airport for Virgin Atlantic aircraft, and by nearly 90 per cent for Virgin Atlantic flights at JFK in New York. It would also mean that an aircraft flying from JFK to Heathrow could carry about two tonnes fewer weight in the air which would mean that the amount of fuel burnt would be considerably less, reducing CO2 emissions even further.

Virgin Atlantic pilots are also trained in a method of descent called continuous descent approach. This involves aircraft beginning their descent from high altitude much earlier, leading to a slower and smoother approach before landing. This earlier descent means that aircraft descend at a more efficient speed, therefore reducing fuel burn. Virgin Atlantic believes that all air-traffic control authorities should adopt this approach, saving considerable CO2 emissions.

As part of its sustainable aviation strategy, Virgin Atlantic is also reducing the weight of each of its aircraft. It is painting the exterior of its planes with lighter paint, creating lighter fittings onboard, changing oxygen bottles from metal to carbon fibre, and it is now using cargo bins made from lighter but stronger carbon-fibre materials, rather than metal.

The airline is even seeking to remove empty champagne and beer bottles, the contents of which have been drunk before leaving the stand, so they can be recycled before the plane leaves for its destination. These measures save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions further.

Sir Richard also said the “mess of European air traffic control is punishing the environment, with 35 different air traffic control organisations, compared with just one in America”.

He called for plans for a single European sky that would optimise air routings by aircraft and improve environmental performance further. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that 12 per cent of global CO2 emissions by aircraft would be saved if air-traffic control systems were more efficient.

Sir Richard added: “What we are suggesting would save over 150 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year. With global warming, the world is heading for a catastrophe. The aviation industry must play its part in averting that. Airlines, airports, air-traffic controllers and governments should seize these initiatives and ensure they are all implemented within two years. If they do so, up to 25 per cent of the world’s aviation emissions can be cut. The savings in fuel costs can then be ploughed back into further initiatives to reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions, and into savings for passengers.”

The initiatives, which have been developed over the last year, follow a recent climate seminar in California chaired by the state governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in which senior business leaders, including Sir Richard, promised to help cut global emissions.

Commenting on the initiatives, Governor Schwarzenegger said: “I applaud the creative example Virgin Atlantic has set in moving towards towing planes from push-back to the end of the runway. This is a perfect example of the kind of practical solution we need to be pursuing globally.”

Meanwhile, schemes to save airlines fuel by towing aircraft from the gate to the runway holding point could be the take-off for a project being developed by a Gibraltar-based company, WheelTug, in conjunction with Boeing.

The wheeltug unit is a fully integrated ground-propulsion system built into the aircraft. It will give aircraft of all sizes full ground mobility (forward and reverse with steering) without turbines or external tugs, according to the company.

Not requiring any airframe modifications, and part of the forward bogie system, it is powered by an auxiliary power unit. Earlier in 2006, WheelTug announced a tie-up with the UK division of Semikron, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of power electronics.

维珍航空公司提出的创新方案有望提高飞机的燃油效率，降低碳排量

英国维珍航空公司老板理查德•布兰森（Richard Branson）爵士提出了一套全球航 空战略方案，旨在缓解全球最繁忙航线的交通状况，提高航机的总周转量。这些改革方案一旦实施，将会相对减少航行器的燃油量并最大限度地减少二氧化碳的排放量，从而从根本上改善地面和空中的空气质量。

该提议的核心思想就是要为所有的飞离航班设置“起步排位”。所谓的起步排位就是飞机起飞前靠近跑道的停候处，分为不同的停机位。这就意味着飞机在起飞前将会被拖到就近的跑道，最大化地减少了发动机运行的时间。

最近在纽约发表的一次讲话中，理查德•布兰森号召全球航空界的同仁共同研究一种新的解决方案，以应对日益重要的全球气候问题。

按照起步排位的提议，飞机在准备起飞前将会受到来自其底端一个小的拖曳机的外力，把飞机拖到机排位。这样，只需要在飞机起飞前约10分钟在停机位发动引擎，从而大大缩短了飞机在起飞前在地面滑行时引擎所要运行的时间。

后来，理查德•布兰森爵士在伦敦接受一次采访中提到：“很高兴我们提出的这一创想能得到英国机场管理局在盖特威克和希思罗的办事处、拉斯维加斯机场以及纽约肯尼迪国际机场的资助。我们希望全球更多的航空公司能意识到环境问题的严峻性，最大化地减少飞机在起飞和着陆过程中二氧化碳的排放量”。

在接受航空商务和旅游媒体（Air Business & Travel News）的采访时，他向媒体描 述了他的这一想法是如何产生的：在午夜三点寒冷的布拉格广场与同事们坐在拖车上，作为邦德新影片《皇家赌场》的客串演员等待拍摄。

他和他的同事们从世界超级侦探聊到全球气候变暖问题。布兰森说：“在那次的闲谈中，我们的一个飞行员抱怨了纽约肯尼迪国际机场的糟糕状况。由于晚间高峰时段机场的严重拥堵，我们的一架飞离航班平均要在地面滑翔70分钟，这种现象时有发生。在排队等待前面20架飞机冲向跑道的过程中，这架747-400的引擎需要持续 运作，因而比其他飞机所需要的燃料更多。而且整个过程都会产生大量的有害气体。”

他补充说：“我们应该考虑着手解决这一问题——既然我们不可能在短期内改善这 种拥堵的状况，那么就需要航空公司从降低碳排放量、缓解全球气候变暖这一准则出发，调整飞机的操作程序。这就使我们想到了我们在拍摄詹姆斯邦德剧时，在布拉格广场上坐拖车的一幕……机长Dave Kistruck拿出一张草纸，在上面粗略地描绘 了纽约肯尼迪国际机场的糟糕的堵塞状况之后，他提出了在世界上最繁忙的国际机场设置‘起步排位’的构思——飞机可以被电动拖车（而不是依靠发动机的动力在地面滑翔）拖曳到停机位，等候起飞。这样，引擎在很短的时间预热之后，便可以直接滑向跑道准备起飞了。一旦在这些最繁忙的航空公司对所有的飞机都采用了这个方法，每年将会节约数百万吨的燃油，并将极大地降低二氧化碳的排量。依靠当前的技术，我们完全有能力实现对飞机的拖曳，从而为拯救我们的星球做出贡献。”。他还透露，维珍集团计划在未来十年投资三十亿美元，用于开发可更新能源计划。

理查德爵士还表示，他已经致电其他的航空公司、发动机和飞机制造商以及机场管理者，敦促他们支持举办一次新的跨业界论坛，为缓解气候变化提出切实可行的解决方案。

理查德爵士在给航空业界领导的致电中写道：“我们应当立即采取行动着手解决由于航空飞行对环境所造成的影响。航空飞行所引发的环境问题是不容忽视的（全球2%的二氧化碳排放量来自于航天飞行），尽管航天产业为我们带来了巨大的经济和社会利益（占到全球GDP的8%）”。

为飞机设置“起步排位”系统在使机场运作更为有效、降低燃油消耗的同时，还将减少伦敦希思罗机场维珍航空的航班在起飞前排放到地表的超过50%的二氧化碳量，以及纽约肯尼迪国际机场维珍航空产生的将近90% 的二氧化碳的排放量。也就是 说，一架从纽约肯尼迪国际机场飞往希思罗机场的飞机在飞行过程中将承载不到两吨重的重量，这就意味着，飞机飞行所需要的总燃油量将会相对减少，从而进一步降低二氧化碳的排放量。

同时，维珍航空的飞行员也在接受一种被称为“持续降落模式”的培训，这种降落模式就是让飞机尽早地从高空开始降落，从而使着陆更为缓慢和平稳。这种较早的降落模式由于速度更为平稳，从而节约了燃油。维珍航空公司认为所有的航天航空控制中心都应该采取这一措施，以减少二氧化碳的排放量。

作为航空航天界可持续发展的一个策略，维珍航空目前正在减少该公司每架飞机的重量。他们用浅色的颜料涂染飞机的外壳，还在机舱内部配置了较轻机载设备，并将铁质的氧气瓶更换为碳纤维质地。现在，维珍航空还将飞机后备箱的材料用更轻更坚实的碳纤维替代了以前的金属。

航空公司甚至还设法丢弃旅客留在置物台上的空香槟瓶和啤酒瓶，旅客在飞机飞离地面之前就将里面的瓶内的酒水喝掉，所以这些空瓶在飞机飞往目的地之前就可以被循环利用。这些举措都可以为进一步节省燃油、降低二氧化碳的排放量做出贡献。

理查德爵士还说：“欧洲航空交通管制的混乱局面正在严重地威胁着全球环境，目前欧洲共有35个不同的交通管制机构，而美国仅有一个。”

他提倡欧洲航空一体化，以实现航空航线的最大化利用，并且更进一步改善环境指标。国际航空运输协会预测，如果航空交通管制体系的运行更为有效，全球飞机排放的二氧化碳量将会降低12%。

理查德补充说：“我们的这项提议一旦实施，每年将会减少1.5亿吨的二氧化碳排量。随着全球气候变暖，世界正面临着一场大灾难。而航空业界有责任为了改变这种局面发挥它应有的作用。各航空公司、航空港、航空交通管制中心以及各国政府都应该抓住机遇，积极采取行动，确保所有措施在两年内施行。如果他们能做到这一点，那么全球飞行排放的二氧化碳量就可减少至25%之多，而节约的燃油成本反过来又可以作为进一步改善发展航天新策略的投资，以期更进一步降低燃油消耗和二氧化碳的排放量，并为乘客节省费用。”

最近，加利福尼亚州长阿诺•施瓦辛格在当地举办了一个关于气候变化的研讨会。在该研讨会上，商业界的高级领导包括理查德爵士在内都表示愿为降低全球二氧化碳的排量献策献力。以上提到的一些开创性举措就是理查德去年在该次研讨会举办之后提出来的。

提到这些举措，州长施瓦辛格评论说：“我对维珍公司提出牵杆式飞机（将飞行器拖曳到跑道）的这一创意性理念深表赞同。像这样切实可行的典型例证我们应该在全球推广。”

与此同时，总部位于直布罗陀的WheelTug公司和波音公司联合，负责设计这种能降低燃油的、通过将飞机从通道拖曳到跑道停机处等待起飞的方案。

机载电动马达是一个安装在飞机里的完全整合地面推动系统。公司的负责人介绍说，这种设备可以在不借助涡轮和外部拖曳力的情况下，为飞行器提供全方位的地面灵活性的动力（可以通过操纵方向盘使飞行器得以前进和旋转）。

飞机既不需要改变机身结构，也不需要更换转向架体系的部件，完全靠辅助的外力产生动力。早在2006年，WheelTug公司就宣布与英国西门康公司——全球电子动 力系统顶级制造商之一——建立合作伙伴关系。

滴答网在此感谢英国驻广州总领事馆提供稿件