Posted on 04/30/2007 5:32:37 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative
No aircraft built before 1990 to be flying by 2012On the day that easyJet collects its 100th Airbus 319 in Hamburg, the airline is calling on European governments to remove almost 700 of the oldest, dirtiest aircraft from Europe’s skies by banning any aircraft built before 1990 from operating within the European Union after 1st January 2012.easyJet passenger carbon footprint less than a Toyota Prius
100th A319 delivered to easyJet in Hamburg today
Through the 1970s and 1980s, the industry was able to substantially reduce noise emissions from aircraft through the prohibition of the noisiest aircraft types, through the identification of aircraft “Chapters”. This incentivised airlines to demand ever-quieter aircraft from manufacturers. Because of this concerted action today's aircraft are typically 75% quieter than jets in the 1960s.
It is time to apply the same logic to CO2 emissions. It is an unavoidable fact that the oldest aircraft are the least fuel-efficient and, therefore, the most environmentally damaging.
According figures from Airbus, a 1980s-vintage MD82 generates 21% more CO2 per seat than an A319 in an equivalent seating layout; and easyJet’s own operating data showed the A319 to be 15% more efficient per seat than the Boeing 737-300. Boeing recently claimed that the 787-9 aircraft will burn 27% less fuel per passenger than the older-generation A340-300 that it could replace in some fleets.
In addition, the fuel consumption of a jet engine deteriorates over time as it used more, reducing the environmental performance of the aircraft. Much of this deterioration can be recovered by doing performance restoration maintenance on the engines, but some performance is always lost.
easyJet proposes that as of 1st January 2012 (i.e. the date all of aviation goes into the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme) no transport aircraft built before 1st January 1990 will be allowed to remain registered in the EU and the requirement would then roll forward each year. The EU could mandate this by issuing an appropriate Regulation. This also has the advantage of capturing freighter aircraft – often where older aircraft end up.
According to data from AirCraft Analytical System, an aviation industry market information provider, of the 3,622 aircraft registered for operations within Europe, 678 are more than 17 years old today (i.e. built before February 1990). This represents 19% of the European fleet and, if they were all replaced today with the most modern technology, this could represent a saving of total emissions from European aviation of 4-5%.
easyJet’s proposal is made as the airline takes delivery of its 100th Airbus 319 aircraft at a special handover ceremony at the Airbus factory in Hamburg before the specially-branded aircraft embarks on a tour of some of Europe’s major capital cities. The 100 aircraft have been delivered in only 3.5 years meaning that easyJet has taken an A319 into its fleet every 12 days – a faster rate than any other airline in history. The easyJet fleet now consists of 130 aircraft with an average age of 2.2 years – the youngest of any major airline in Europe.
Speaking today in Hamburg at a ceremony to mark the delivery of the airline’s 100th Airbus A319, Andy Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive, said:
“Our proposal to limit the age of European aircraft to 22 years or younger would have a dramatic impact on the Europe’s aviation emissions and would mirror the progress already made in noise reductions. The European Commission has announced new guidelines that average car emissions should not exceed 130g CO2 per kilometre. Similar steps must be taken to get the oldest aircraft out of the sky to enable the industry to achieve “green growth”.
“Governments and regulators must begin to recognise that some aircraft are dramatically more environmentally-efficient than others. easyJet’s mix of new aircraft with high seat densities and high load factors means a traditional airline emits 27% more CO2 per passenger kilometre than easyJet. Over the course of our last financial year, easyJet emitted 95.7g CO2 per passenger kilometre – which means an easyJet passenger’s environmental footprint is less than the 104g CO2 per kilometre of the Toyota Prius.
“Unlike some issues in aviation which need global agreement – this could be very straightforward, so there is no excuse for inaction. The vast majority of aircraft flying short-haul routes within Europe are on European-registered airlines which can be covered by a legislative proposal from the European Commission.”
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I suppose it’s easy to call for banning older jets when you’re an upstart airline with an average fleet age of 2 years.
So what's different about a 767-300ER built in 1988 compared to one built in 1990?
I think there are lots of WTO issues involved.
This is aimed squarely at emptying the skies over Europe of Boeing aircraft.
But they were damn glad to have them up there 60 years ago.
Buncha hypocrites
Isn’t that converted 747 that is flying parts for the Dreamliner from Europe older than this?
I’m sure our aging but wonderful fleet of B52’s will still be flying in Europe then.
They don’t like noise, do some of the old style SAC alert takeoffs where there’d be like 10 taking off in a row. Man, what a site, sound and feeling, I miss it.
But eventually every part in that plane gets rebuilt. A 1988 GE engine that has just been overhauled is going to be just cleaner than a 1990 engine that has 10,000 hours since it's last overhaul. A737-300 has similar engines to a 737-700. It's the wings that are the main difference. Also engines often get upgraded with new technology when they are overhauled.
Hey, it the engines, not the whole damn airplane anyway...
Whats funny is an environmental study done recently showed that the Toyota Prius has a BIGGER carbon footprint than a HUMMER!
The bulk of the problem with the Prius has to do with the environmental destruction that takes place in making the batteries from the raw mining to the final product in the Prius at your showroom. I also understand it is an environmentally hazardous process in making them.
Kind of like those new CFL light bulbs. Just make sure you don't drop and break one or you are looking at a $2,000 bill to clean up the hazardous waste!!!
I love EasyJet and RyanAir. I used them to fly from Edinburgh to Dublin for 10 pounds and from Dublin to Paris for 10 euro!
Isn’t it... curious... that Global Warming gives state-interventionist busybodies the justification to do what they have wanted to do all along...
Convenient, huh?
Probably not. All the Dreamlifters are going to be converted from 747-400's. The 747-400 first went into revenue service in 1989, so most 747-400's were built after 1990. The engines on the 747-400 are the same as the ones on the 767-300ER and Airbus A330.
Flown both RyanAir and EasyJet and liked both. Customer service for EasyJet was non-existent though. I also flew from Dublin to Paris and it was dirt cheap, even with the unfavorable exchange rate.
Indeed. They kneel as in prayer, roll their eyes heavenward, and petition the government to break their competitors’ knees.
Don’t airlines already have plenty of incentive to replace inefficient airplanes? If a particular 23-year-old airplane happens to be efficient enough that fuel costs are acceptable, why should it be restricted to non-EU travel?
Plus there are upgrades to both engines and airframes that can improve efficiency. CFM has a program to upgrade exiting CFM-56 engines used in 737 300-900 series and in Airbus A320 an A340 aircraft. Aviation Partners has develped blended winglets for 737-300, 400 and 500 models to improve their performance and efficiency. They are about to launch a program to make high speed blended winglets for the 767-300ER and later other 767 versions.
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