KUALA LUMPUR: Investments in new airplane models would allow airlines to save up to 25 per cent fuel in overall operations, particularly for models like the Airbus A320 NEO, A350 as well as the Boeing B787.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) director aviation environment, Michael Gill said investment in new airplanes also brings significant carbon reduction.
“There is a financial imperative for the new aircraft replacement because less fuel is burned. That means less fuel they (airlines) will have to purchase.
“It is a fine balance for airlines to weigh up the financial impact of having to invest for new fleet with the potential of fuel saving as well as the emission,” he told NST Business.
Gill said airlines need to balance its growth by prioritising climate action while ensuring development of its trade and tourism of the countries they operate.
“Carbon-neutral growth is an effort by the industry to acknowledge that many countries want to continue their aviation development. This concept allows us to keep feeding economic activity and cap airlines emissions,” he added.
He said IATA is heavily promoting carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation (CORSIA), an emission mitigation approach for the global airline industry developed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
“The goal will be addressed not only through the technological, operational and infrastructural advancements we have already discussed, but most importantly through the development of a global market-based at the United Nation’s ICAO agreed at the 2016 ICAO Assembly,” he said, adding that IATA is now firmly into the implementation phase of the CORSIA scheme.
Gill said ICAO Council had adopted the technical standards for the monitoring, reporting and verification of aircraft emissions under CORSIA in June 2018.
“Those standards will be applicable in all ICAO member states from January 1, 2019. Many countries are ready including Canada, India, Kuwait, Mexico, Namibia, Turkey and Vietnam.
“These countries have already passed legislation or published draft legislation in implementing these regulations,” he said, while noting that the success of carbon reduction measure should not be assessed on the basis of the compliance cost for operators but rather on the basis of the carbon mitigation achieved.
He said if all ICAO member states volunteer for CORSIA by 2021, over 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (annual average of 215,8 million) could be mitigated through this scheme.
In July last year, Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) received its sixth Airbus A350-900 extra wide-body aircraft for long-haul travel, which would be mainly use to serve the Kuala Lumpur-London route.
Currently the airline has the right size of widebody planes consisting of the A380 (six units), A350 (six units) and A330 (21 units) as well as narrowbody plane the B737 (48 units).
Low cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd also in July last year, concluded a US$30 billion aircraft deal with Airbus involving 100 units of the A330neo twin-aisle plane for its long-haul operator, AirAsia X Bhd.
IATA director general and chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac said sustainability is critical for any industry’s future and effectively managing the climate change impact is aviation’s license to grow.
“We successfully asked governments through the ICAO to regulate us globally to manage our carbon footprint. By 2050, we will cut our net emissions to half 2005 levels,” he said.
De Juniac said aviation also needs a business-friendly policy framework that supports competitiveness, while working hard to support business freedom with focus on safety, efficiency and sustainability both financial and environmental.
On the aircraft’s future technological advancement, Gill said electrification of aircraft is a huge challenge for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Airbus and Boeing because the battery technology has yet developed.
“However, there is a huge investment in the new aircraft technology. We do believe some point in the future, there will be an electric aircraft.
“I think realistically in the mid-term, we expect to have a hybrid solution of electric and fuel aircraft engine,” he said.
Gill said if there is a sustainable fuel, airlines can have lower carbon emission but he reckoned that there is a lot of development in this fairly short time.
“We expect to see things coming online sooner than we previously thought. The preliminary aircraft new technology will be for small aircraft operating for short haul or regional route,” he said.