Minimize food waste, fly with wind currents, delay engine start. Thanks to a series of measures, an Air France plane has halved the CO2 emissions of its Paris-Montreal flight.<\/p>\n
The objective of this series of measures? Complete the most eco-responsible long-distance commercial flight in the world in a challenge offered by the Skyteam airline alliance. For two weeks in May 16 airlines will compete against each other to achieve the most eco-friendly flight possible.<\/p>\n
Measures and guidelines were put into place before and during the flight including asking passengers to evaluate and limit the volume and weight of their luggage.\u00a0 Passengers were also encouraged to select their meals prior to departure in a bid to reduce food waste.<\/p>\n
The captain also practiced eco-piloting, which notably includes planning his trajectory according to wind currents and the use of a single engine before take-off. By doing so fuel consumption reduced by 3 to 4%.<\/p>\n
In addition, ground operations including pushing back the plane, transporting crews by bus, and moving luggage were carried out using electric vehicles, explains the director of Air France KLM Canada, Catherine Guillemart.<\/p>\n
An Airbus A350 was selected as it consumes 20 to 25% less fuel and emits a third less noise pollution than previous generations of aircraft.<\/p>\n
According to Mehran Ebrahimi, professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) and director of the International Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation, Skyteam’s eco-responsible flight challenge is “a good gesture\u201d but based on “a lot of marketing”.<\/p>\n
The use of more advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, as in the Air France flight, is a good start, argues the expert.<\/p>\n
But we also must completely rethink our relationship to the plane and to travel, he adds. \u201cIf we take a plane flight from Montreal to Toronto, even if there are all the possible ecological measures on board, it does not make sense. The journeys that we can make by train or public transport, we should not do it by plane,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"