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Israel Aerospace Industries and Airbus signed an MOU
Critical importance of a healthy and robust air transport system for the world economy was highlighted
Team of students from the University of Queensland won the inaugural Airbus "Fly Your Ideas" challenge
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh called for carbon taxes to be levied on passengers

Eco-Aviation Today, July 10, 2009, p.8

Israel Aerospace Industries and Airbus signed an MOU at the Paris Air Show to develop and test an innovative pilot-controlled semirobotic towing system. The Taxibot Dispatch Towing system, designed by IAI, can be used by both widebody and single-aisle aircraft to taxi to and from the gate and runway without engine power. Potential fuel savings reductions are expected to be $6 billion along with 16 billion tons of CO2. IAI Corporate VP-Business Development and Subsidiaries Yehushua Eldar told media at the show that "Taxibot demonstrates our commitment to the environment and utilizes IAI's robotics capabilities and technological experience."

IAI and Airbus now are studying the performance, operational, commercial and safety aspects of the system in a series of ground taxi tests with Airbus's A340-600 in Toulouse. After trials, the companies are expected to form a joint venture to develop and certify Taxibot for delivery in the third quarter of 2011. Taxibot gives the pilot full control during taxi, using the existing aircraft controls for ease of operation, according to the companies. It requires no modifications to airport infrastructure.

Critical importance of a healthy and robust air transport system for the world economy was highlighted at a gathering of industry heavyweights at the Paris Air Show last month. ITT, which is leading US FAA's rollout of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast as the basis of the NextGen air traffic management system, was host to industry leaders to update and debate the agency's progress and compare those plans with the EU's SESAR. ITT Chairman and CEO Steve Loranger emphasized the "urgent need" to update air traffic control for "the sake of national economies and the environment."

His urging was supported by Daniel Calleja, EC Director of Air Transport, responsible for SESAR's implementation. Calleja highlighted that the number of passengers annually flying within the EU has nearly tripled since 1993 and the number of routes has increased by 300%. "SESAR's performance-driven approach aims at enabling a threefold increase in capacity, improving safety by a factor of ten, reducing environmental impact by 10% per flight and cutting ATM costs by 50%," he said. The SESAR Program consists of 295 projects grouped into 16 work packages to be completed by 2016.

However, a reality check was delivered by IATA's Peter Griffiths, who cast serious doubts on the timelines, particularly the ADS-B installation, given the fall in air traffic revenues owing to the economic downturn. FAA Acting Administrator for International Aviation Dorothy Reimold conceded similar funding problems as well as the challenge of reaching a stakeholder consensus on funding among airlines, FAA and the US's large general aviation sector.

Team of students from the University of Queensland won the inaugural Airbus "Fly Your Ideas" challenge at the Paris Air Show. Airbus said the Australian "COz" team won for its project involving use of the castor plant "to develop the first-ever single-plant-based, high-performance composite materials for aircraft cabin components." Michael Heitzmann, COz team leader, said, "We wanted to demonstrate that composite materials made entirely with castor plant fiber can reduce the aircraft carbon footprint and enhance environmental protection." Other team members included Alex Ng and Benjamin Lindenberger.

Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders awarded the team a €30,000 prize. The second-place team from National University of Singapore, "Solaire Voyager," received a prize of €15,000 "for its proposal to use solar cell technology integrating photovoltaic cells aboard aircraft to generate electricity," Airbus said.

British Airways CEO Willie Walsh called for carbon taxes to be levied on passengers to tackle climate change. He believes passengers should pay a steadily increasing amount toward carbon trading permits and that the funds should be used toward fighting tropical deforestation. "It has to increase fares. For the industry to play its part, the people who benefit from that industry--the passengers--are going to have to pay," Walsh told The Times Online.

Alaska Airlines has begun testing continuous descent approaches into Seattle/Tacoma International using RNP technology, which it pioneered in the 1990s. Effort, dubbed "Greener Skies," is being done in cooperation with the Port of Seattle, Boeing and FAA and also will involve regional affiliate Horizon Air. Alaska Air estimates the procedures will cut fuel consumption by 2.1 million gal. annually and reduce carbon emissions by 22,000 tonnes, "the equivalent of taking 4,100 cars off the road every year." They also will "reduce overflight noise exposure" for an estimated 750,000 people. "With FAA approval, we hope the procedures will be available to all carriers and gradually integrated into the Seattle air traffic system," said VP-Flight Operations Gary Beck.

World Travel and Tourism Council named Costa Rica's Nature Air, the world's first carbon-neutral airline, winner of its 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Conservation Award. In 2004, Nature Air pledged to set sustainability standards for the airline industry and offsets 100% of its carbon emissions through protection and reforestation of tropical forests on Costa Rica's Osa peninsula. It only invests in government-endorsed projects and additionally it pays for audits of the land to ensure that it is being protected. Interestingly, Nature Air claims that passengers are happy to pay extra for their tickets to fully offset their carbon footprint. In fact, it has grown fivefold in revenue since implementation of the program and now has 74 flights a day to 17 destinations.

Eleven member airlines of the Arab Air Carriers Org. will be the first users of SITA's new Aircraft Emissions Manager when the solution becomes available commercially in October, AACO and SITA revealed at SITA's Air Transport IT Summit in Cannes in late June. AACO also agreed on behalf of the 11 participating members (EgyptAir, Oman Air, Royal Jordanian, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Syrian Arab Airways, Air Cairo, Jordan Aviation, Kuwait Airways, Libyan Airlines, Middle East Airlines and Yemenia Yemen Airways) that SITA will supply advisory services to help manage what they call the EU Emissions Trading Scheme "challenge." By Aug. 31, all airlines operating to, from and within the EU must submit their plan on how they will monitor and report carbon dioxide emissions to their assigned EU member state in advance of a pre-monitoring phase in 2010. The effective cap-and-trade starts in 2012.

IATA appointed Finnair VP-Sustainable Development Kati Ihamaki to its Environment Committee in recognition of the airline's and Ihamaki's work in the environmental field. Finnair has been engaged in environmental work for two decades. Its environmental organization was founded in the early 1990s with the airline publishing an environmental report every year since 1997.

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