ABU DHABI, 3 April 2018: Etihad Airways says it eliminated around 195,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2017, thanks to fuel-saving initiatives.
Following improvements in operational efficiencies, Etihad was able to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by its aircraft by over 62,000 tonnes.
The result represents a 3.3% improvement from the year before, and is the equivalent of 850 flights between Abu Dhabi and London.
Flight plan adjustments across the network reduced approximately 900 hours of flying time, leading to a saving of 5,400 tonnes of fuel and eliminating approximately 17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Last year, Etihad Airways also retired several older aircraft in favour of the Boeing 787, a fuel efficient commercial aircraft due to its lightweight composite structure.
Etihad currently operates 19 Boeing 787s in its 115-strong fleet of passenger and cargo aircraft.
Etihad Airways chief operations officer, Richard Hill said: “ The combination of retiring some of our older aircraft and increasing the proportion of Boeing 787 aircraft within our fleet, together with optimising our flight paths made a noticeable improvement to our fuel consumption and emissions profile.”
Etihad also in collaboration with air traffic control in Abu Dhabi, adopted the most fuel-efficient descent manoeuvre known as ‘continuous descent approach’, whereby the aircraft reduces height gradually, rather than in a stepped manners saving 980 tonnes of fuel in 2017.
By combining key fuel saving projects with operational improvements, the efficiency per passenger kilometre improved by as much as 36% on some of Etihad’s routes.
