easyJet Plans Greener Aircraft By 2015

AEROSPACE

Low cost airline EasyJet Chief Executive Andy Harrison unveils a new jet airline design called the - easyJet ecoJet - which will emit 50% less C02 and be 25% quieter than the most current aircraft currently in service, at a press conference in London, 14 June 2007. EasyJet became the latest carrier to set out its green credentials by announcing planned cuts in CO2 emissions. EasyJet Chief executive Andy Harrison said the airline aimed to slash emissions by 50% by 2015. Photo courtesy AFP.

by Pierre Pratabuy
London (AFP) June 14, 2007
British no-frills carrier easyJet on Thursday launched plans for eco-friendly aircraft which it hopes either Airbus or Boeing will develop by 2015 as the aviation sector tilts towards greener air travel. The so-called "ecoJet" would emit half the amount of carbon dioxide expelled by current aircraft, easyJet revealed at a press conference in London.

The news comes amid European moves to limit the environmental impact of airline pollution through the imposition of carbon dioxide emissions quotas from 2011, despite some opposition from within the travel industry.

"We are working with the manufacturers to get this aircraft delivered in 2015," easyJet chief executive Andrew Harrison told reporters.

"We're talking to Boeing and Airbus and they're actively working on it.

"There is nothing on this plane that Airbus or Boeing would not recognise," he added without stating the financial cost of the ecoJet project.

The new "ecoJet" has a lightweight fuselage and other improvements in technology and design which are aimed at cutting carbon emissions and noise.

Its unveiling came a day after Boeing forecast that airlines worldwide -- led by the low-cost sector -- would take delivery of nearly 30,000 new jets in the next 20 years.

The airline sector flies into focus again next week during the Paris Air Show, a showpiece event where US aerospace giant Boeing Co. and its European rival Airbus are expected to announce key orders.

"This is not Star Trek, this is the future, we have not created a new concept," Harrison said Thursday, adding that there was no prototype version for the proposed "super-clean" shorthaul aircraft.

"We will have this aircraft in the sky in 2015 if there is greater economic demand," he said.

easyJet was in the process of investing billion of pounds in the latest generation of aviation technology, according to Harrison.

From 2011, airlines will have to meet targets by reducing their emissions or buying carbon dioxide credits from other industries, under current European Union proposals.

Planes leave condensation trails at high altitudes which add to the greenhouse gas effect, fanning fears over global climate change.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Email This Article

AEROSPACE

Airbus Wants To Cut CO2 Emissions By Half By 2020

Paris (AFP) June 14, 2007
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from its planes by half between now and 2020, company chief executive Louis Gallois said here Thursday. Gallois also appealed to Airbus competitor Boeing to take take part in an industry conference on protecting the environment.

ENERGY TECH Chinese Officials Say Ditch The Suit And Slash Energy Use Alternative Energy Comes Closer With Advances In Hydrogen Fuel Cell Sealing Technology Russian Utility Eyes 700-Million-Euro Kyoto Windfall Spanish Fenosa To Invest In Latin American Renewables	CIVIL NUCLEAR Thousands Of Protestors Rally Against Indonesian Nuclear Plant Thailand To Build First Nuclear Plant Wyle And ARES Corporation Sign Teaming Agreement To Pursue Nuclear Energy Industry Business NGO Warns Of Explosion Risk At Russian Nuclear Storage
BLUE SKY AIRS Global Map Of Carbon Dioxide From Space Widespread Twilight Zone Detected Around Clouds Rand Says Further Study Warranted On Save The World Air Technology Noxious Lightning	WOOD PILE Rove Beetles Act As Warning Signs For Clear-Cutting Consequences Woods Hole Research Center Scientists Study Impacts Of Industrial Logging In Central Africa Zimbabwe Forests Under Threat While Cambodia Censors Logging Report Uganda Shelves Plan To Convert Rainforest
FARM NEWS Livestock Virtually Fenced In A Crop Containment Strategy For GM Farms Study Predicts Grim Future For European Seas Compost Reduces P Factor In Broccoli, Eggplant, Cabbage Trial	CAR TECH Toyota To Make Diesel Engines With Isuzu Honda To Produce Green Diesel Cars Toyota Develops More Fuel-Efficient Engine System GM Wants To Drive Green But Easy On The Rules
AEROSPACE easyJet Plans Greener Aircraft By 2015 Airbus Wants To Cut CO2 Emissions By Half By 2020 Airlines To Order Nearly 30,000 New Planes In Next 20 Years Airlines Pledge Emissions Cuts But Warn EU Curbs Could Jeopardise Sector	NUCLEAR SPACE Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement