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Airline

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	Introduction
Fundamentals Uncertainties Emission Metrics
	Industry Associations

	Airlines
Fuel Efficiency & Technology Air Traffic Management (ATM) Reporting & Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Emissions Trading
	Government

	Other Initiatives
Carbon Offsetting Carbon Disclosure

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Air Traffic Management (ATM)

Airlines seek to optimize flight routes, both distance and altitude, to use the least amount of fuel. This effort however is hampered both by government regulation and controls on airspace that frequently dictate circuitous routes to airline destinations and that often require aircraft to maintain holding patterns prior to landing. In China for example, the airspace is controlled by the military which subsequently dictates the flight paths of civilian aircraft. Unfortunately the situation globally would appear to be exacerbated by political inertia. Although frustrated, some airlines are acting through organizations such as IATA to negotiate with national authorities for more efficient ATM.

To put this issue in perspective, according to IATA, in 2003 routing changes were responsible for a reduction of roughly 6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. That is the equivalent of entirely eliminating a mid-to-small sized global airline's emissions for a year. Indeed, IPCC report that improved ATM globally could reduce fuel burn and emissions by between 6-12%. It is anticipated that such improvements will be implemented in the next 20 years or so.

In Europe, there is some activity to address ATM issues through the European Union's Single European Sky Initiative. This is 'an ambitious initiative to reform the architecture of European air traffic control to meet future capacity and safety needs'
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/traffic_management/index_en.htm.

Airline (Asia)	On ATM
Cathay Pacific	Continues to ensure that any additional fuel carried is kept to a minimum. Also works with others to address delays caused by congestion, fuel tankering as a result of fuel price differentials and indirect routings caused by differences in air traffic systems and over-flight charges
Singapore Airlines	Support the work of agencies, such as IATA and AAPA, that are working to improve air traffic management so that aircraft can make the most fuel efficient, and therefore the least polluting, journeys
KLM Air France	The Group participates in the European SESAR project to enable air transport to grow safely through a significant reduction in delays and CO2 emissions The potential for reduction in CO2 emissions resulting from improved European traffic management is estimated to be 6%
SAS	AEA estimates suggest that a coordinated European ATC system can, at current air traffic levels, yield fuel savings of about 12% through shorter flight paths, less congestion and shorter holding times in the air
Lufthansa	The Group optimizes the flight routings of its aircraft. Apart from economic efficiency, this complex task is also guided by legal requirements, territorial regulations and internal safety standards, all of which must be adhered to. Nevertheless, Lufthansa has been successful in devising a more direct route to Hong Kong, for example, which saves 15 to 20 minutes travel time on each flight In 2005, the aircraft of Lufthansa Passenger Airlines were forced to spend the equivalent of 420 days flying in holding patterns. By avoiding this type of delay alone, Lufthansa could have emitted about 110,000 fewer tons of CO2. This corresponds to carrying more than 300,000 passengers from Frankfurt to Mallorca and back again

Useful sources of information:

A look at the impact of contrails in the magazine Nature
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7095/abs/nature04877.html

IATA press statement about aviation in ETS and routing
http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/2006-12-20-1.htm

European Union Single European Skies Initiative
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/traffic_management/index_en.htm