Singapore Airlines (SIA), in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), has started operating a series of 12 ‘green package’ flights over a three-month period on its non-stop San Francisco-Singapore route.
?Committed to the global effort to reduce international aviation emissions, SIA and CAAS said in a joint press statement on May 3, 2017.
Featuring SIA’s latest-generation and most fuel-efficient aircraft, the Airbus A350-900, the ‘green package’ flights are the first in the world to combine the use of biofuels, fuel-efficient aircraft and optimised flight operations. CAAS is facilitating the use of these optimised flight operations and Air Traffic Management (ATM) best practices to reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions for the flights.
The first of the 12 flights, SQ31, had departed San Francisco at 1121hrs (San Francisco Time) on 1 May 2017 and arrived in Singapore at 1910 hrs (Singapore Time) on 2 May with 206 passengers on board.
The initiative supports the efforts under the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB) 2015 to develop Singapore as a Leading Green Economy. Businesses are encouraged to adopt more efficient and sustainable processes and measures to contribute towards a Sustainable Singapore. The flights will also raise awareness of sustainable biofuels for aviation. This will provide the industry with valuable insight on the economics, logistical requirements and performance of biofuels.
“SIA’s fleet is already among the most modern and fuel-efficient in the world. We now want to push ourselves further and are embarking on this initiative to help promote the use of sustainable biofuel in an operationally and commercially-viable manner," said Goh Choon Phong, SIA's Chief Executive Officer.
"This is in line with our long-term commitment to further reduce carbon emissions while improving the efficiency of our operations. This initiative is especially memorable as our first biofuel flight departed from San Francisco on 1 May, when Singapore Airlines celebrated its 70th anniversary,” he added.