Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 20-Jan-2020

This CAPA report contains a brief summary of aviation environment reports issued in recent days.
They form part of CAPA's 400 daily aviation subscription news alerts

Wizz Air "the greenest airline in Vienna"

Wizz Air CEO József Váradi stated (17-Jan-2020) the carrier is the greenest airline in Vienna with 40% less emissions than Austrian Airlines. Mr Váradi added Wizz Air is the lowest cost operator in the city.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna, Mr Váradi said: "Today is a great news for Austrian travellers and those who wish to visit the country. We are announcing more Vienna based brand new aircraft, more low fare routes and frequencies as well as more jobs and tourism revenues for Austria. Wizz Air is the structural winner of the fast changing Vienna airline market given its highly efficient operation and superior fleet performance. Wizz Air is not only the lowest cost producer in Vienna, but also the greenest airline with 40% less emission per passenger than Austrian Airlines. Wizz Air is the airline of choice of responsible travellers."

Air Austral replaces single use plastics on board aircraft (Air Austral report)

Air Austral has replaced (19-Jan-2020) single use plastics on board aircraft with sustainable, recyclable, reusable or biodegradable alternatives from the end of Dec-2019.

Original report: Air Austral Relève Le Défi Du Zéro Plastique À Bord

Avia Solutions Group: Passenger solutions, sustainability, AI and biometrics among key 2020 trends (Avia Solutions report)

Avia Solutions Group CEO Gediminas Ziemelis commented (16-Jan-2020) 2020 will be a "revolutionary year" for the global aviation industry and outlined a number of expectations for 2020, including:

• Sustainability: An issue at the forefront for aviation. CO2 emissions from aircraft remain the most significant of aviation's total contribution to climate change and the introduction of a "greener tomorrow" requires "reviewing absolutely all business processes from rethinking of aircraft design and airframes to their operation and inflight services". Lowering CO2 emissions may have a "negative influence on travelling costs", but governments and industry leaders are "ready to prioritise environmental impact and waste reduction"

Avolon forecasts 2020 focus on environment more important

Avolon, via its 2020 'Navigating Through Turbulence' outlook paper, made (19-Jan-2020) a number of forecasts for 2020, including:

• Aviation "gets serious about the environment" with an increasing number of concrete proposals from a variety of players to meet the 2050 industry goal of a reduction in net aviation carbon emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. In 2020, urban mobility solutions will demonstrate electrification of air travel is feasible, if at first only on short sectors.

Extract from original report

2020 VISION | NAVIGATING THROUGH TURBULENCE
The Environment as a Higher Purpose

"Flygskam became a common call in 2019.
"Flight shaming" was a meaningful drag on growth for air travel in Northern Europe, with Sweden experiencing its first year-over-year decline in capacity since the financial crisis. Commercial aviation today accounts for some 2% of global carbon emissions. The fact is the marginal cost of reducing the other 98% is lower. Jet fuel has more than 40 times the energy density of batteries meaning aviation's disruptive technologies are challenging to mature and will be capital intensive to implement.
Nonetheless, the industry must be relentless in its efforts to continuously improve and communicate its progress to the flying public.Efficiency improvements have long been a hallmark of aviation given the strong incentive for airlines to reduce cost through reduced fuel burn.
The MAX grounding resulted in approximately 1.5 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions that would have been avoided if new aircraft flew instead of old, the carbon equivalent of some 1.8 million additional passengers flying New York to Paris return. Fleet transition to new-technology will accelerate in 2020 as production shifts to the newest variants, improving seat-mile efficiency but not fast enough to offset the growth in air travel.
ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) creates a market-based scheme for the industry to begin to tackle its emissions challenge. 2020 is set to be the program's baseline. Nearly two hundred electrically propelled aircraft projects are in varying stages of development around the world with the promise to revolutionize urban mobility. Hybrid solutions may offer the next step-change efficiency improvement for inter-city travel. However, neither technology is expected to be ready for mass adoption in the near- to medium-term."

VINCI Airports transition to carbon neutrality to continue in 2020

VINCI Airports stated (17-Jan-2020) the transition to carbon neutrality for its network will continue in 2020. VINCI Airports has reduced its carbon footprint by 20% in the past five years and has set a target of a further 50% reduction by 2030. CEO Nicolas Notebaert commented: "Backed by a powerful, efficient and attractive global network, VINCI Airports is a committed player on the ground for sustainable mobility. In 2020, the company will continue to pursue its mission to serve the development of regions and its customers".

Extract from VINCI Airports report

La transition vers la neutralité carbone de la totalité du réseau de VINCI Airports se poursuivra en 2020. De nouvelles fermes solaires seront installées prochainement au Portugal, au Cambodge et en République dominicaine. Trois aéroports du réseau ont déjà atteint la neutralité carbone (Londres Gatwick, Lyon et Liberia-Guanacaste au Costa-Rica). Depuis cinq ans, VINCI Airports a déjà réduit son empreinte carbone de 20 % et s'est fixé un objectif de réduction supplémentaire de 50 % d'ici 2030.

Nicolas Notebaert, président de VINCI Airports et directeur général de VINCI Concessions, a déclaré :
" S'appuyant sur un réseau mondial puissant, efficace et attractif, VINCI Airports est un acteur engagé sur le terrain pour une mobilité durable. L'entreprise poursuivra en 2020 sa mission au service du développement des territoires et de ses clients ".

German Aviation Association: German airline fuel consumption per pax/100km down 44% since 1990

German Aviation Association president Matthias von Randow, via the organisation's official Twitter account, reported (17-Jan-2020) German airlines have reduced fuel consumption per passenger per 100km by 44% to 3.55 litres between 1990 and 2018.

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