Air New Zealand Makes Significant Carbon Emission Reductions

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Air New Zealand’s fuel savings initiative program is on track to see the airline reduce its carbon emissions by more than 100,000 tons annually.

General Manager Airline Operations Captain David Morgan says the airline has been a world-leader in examining every aspect of its flight operations to reduce carbon emissions by saving fuel.

“Air New Zealand has been at the forefront of finding ways to minimize our environmental impact and so far our flight operations program has delivered 91,000 tons in reduced carbon emissions in just over three years. We had a goal of topping 100,000 tons annually within five years and we look like beating that by almost two years,” Captain Morgan says.

“Our initiatives range from reducing weight on aircraft to more accurate fuel loadings so we are not flying with excess fuel weight, optimizing flight speeds, better use of ground power when aircraft are at the airport gate and improved descent profiles.”

Captain Morgan says future initiatives to further reduce carbon emissions from the Air New Zealand fleet include being the launch customer for the aerodynamic enhancement package on the fleet of eight Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft. Consideration is also being given to fitting winglets to the Boeing 767 fleet of five aircraft so that they fly more economically.

“Environmental responsibility is a cornerstone of Air New Zealand’s flight operations and our team has made an outstanding effort to ensure that the airline is a global leader and one our nation can be proud of.”

Captain Morgan says the fuel savings program has also delivered a significant economic benefit to Air New Zealand.

“We are using 36 million liters less fuel on an annual basis compared to when we started this program and this is delivering a savings of $43 million each year based on current fuel prices,” he says.

“Air New Zealand is now regularly approached by other airlines seeking to learn from our success and we are committed to making even more improvements over the next couple of years.”

About Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand offers more direct flights to the South Pacific than any other airline, including non-stop flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Vancouver to New Zealand, as well as Los Angeles non-stop to the Cook Islands and Samoa. Other popular destinations include Australia, China, Japan and Tonga. In addition to flying non-stop Los Angeles-London, Air New Zealand's newest route, between London and Hong Kong, now allows customers to fly round-the-world on one airline. Consistently rated among the world's best international airlines, Air New Zealand's most recent accolades include recognition by the Condé Nast Traveler Reader's Choice Awards, the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards and Business Traveler Magazine. United Mileage Plus, US Airways Dividend Miles and Air Canada's Aeroplan members earn and redeem mileage on select flights. Flight and vacation essentials can be booked on AirNewZealand.com. Flight and vacation bookings can also be made by calling 1-800-262-1234 in the USA and 1-800-663-5494 in Canada.

For more information, please visit www.airnewzealand.com