Eco-Aviation Channel

Emirates cites five years of savings with Flex Tracks

Eco-Aviation Today, January 12, 2009, p.4

Emirates has saved almost 10 million liters of jet fuel and 772 hr. of flight time in the five years since working with Airservices Australia, the country's air navigation services provider, to pioneer the flight route planning and airspace management program known as Flex Tracks. Emirates said that over the five years the fuel saving of 9.6 million liters (equivalent to approximately 351 tanker trucks) resulted in a reduction of 26,644 tons of CO2 and 163 tons of NOx.

The Flex Tracks program, which involves the use of sophisticated ground and cockpit technology to track live weather to chase tailwinds and favorable conditions, was developed by Airservices and Emirates in December 2003. Airservices was honored with ATW's 2008 Aviation Technology Achievement Award in part for its work on Flex Tracks.

Emirates President Tim Clark said in a statement that "since its launch in 2003, Emirates has progressively expanded the operation of Flex Tracks to all its Australian services and it is a major pillar of the airline's efforts to drive eco-efficiencies throughout its global network."

He added: "Emirates has made a multibillion-dollar investment in new state-of-the-art aircraft, and Flex Tracks helps us stretch the environmental performance and unlock the full potential of these new aircraft. Emirates' partnership with Airservices is a great symbol of our commitment to driving eco-efficiency throughout our operations. Saving 9.6 million liters of fuel makes good commercial sense and also delivers significant environmental dividends."

Flex Tracks, which cross the extensive Australian domestic air traffic network, are changed on a daily basis. To put that into context, Australia has radar coverage for only the eastern seaboard plus areas around Perth, Adelaide and Darwin. The Flex Tracks program is particularly significant for ultra-long-haul flights where weather reports of upper-level winds are updated regularly in flight, allowing significant fuel burn and time savings.

Airservices CEO Greg Russell said in a statement: "Flex Tracks highlights how an innovative approach to airspace management can deliver significant environmental and business dividends. And it won't stop here. We are planning to use the strength of our tried and tested relationship with Emirates to deliver more benefits and outcomes through world-leading initiatives such as User Preferred Routes."

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