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airberlin ended 2011 by setting a new record. Germany’s second largest airline managed to improve its fuel efficiency by another 1.5%, reducing its average specific fuel consumption to 3.5 litres per 100 passenger kilometres flown (PKM). This means that airberlin uses less fuel per service operated than any other network carrier in Europe.
During a presentation in Dusseldorf on Friday, Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO of airberlin, commented that “Environmental protection has become one of the criteria of competitiveness. The careful use of resources leads to a sustainable reduction in costs and has a beneficial impact on the environment. Customers view this as providing added value, an area which airberlin would like to develop further.”
The savings made in 2011 amounted to nearly 19,800 tonnes of fuel over the 12 months, which corresponds to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 62,000 tonnes. This record-breaking achievement is the result of efforts made within the company. A large contribution to the new savings has been made by measures which provide more precise and up-to-date information for flight operations, such as weather, temperatures or flight path. The optimisation of flight times on turboprop and jet aircraft and a more refined approach to aircraft loading also help to reduce fuel consumption. airberlin has also succeeded in standardising other measures with its partner airlines, such as the washing of engines, and in doing so has strengthened its activity aimed at protecting the environment.
In the field of air traffic, fuel is one of the most significant factors, alongside political policy, which drive prices upwards. Reducing fuel consumption is therefore a matter of utmost importance. Environmental protection is given top priority at airberlin. In 2012, the company aims to reduce its average specific fuel consumption to 3.4 litres per 100 PKM. This corresponds to an additional reduction of 100,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
