On Saturday, two special KLM flights will depart from Schiphol to Edmonton and Porto. With the flights, KLM participates in the ‘Sustainable Flight Challenge’a SkyTeam sustainable flying competition.
A total of sixteen airlines are taking part in the sustainability competition, which was devised by a group of enthusiastic KLM employees. “They were inspired by the historic London-Melbourne race in 1934, which was aimed at opening up the world and thus connecting people,” KLM says. “The challenges that aviation faces today are no longer about bridging distances, but about making it more sustainable.” The aim of the competition is to accelerate the sustainability of aviation and to learn from each other’s experiences.
There are currently two main ways in which aviation CO2 emissions can be reduced: fleet renewal and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The flights to Edmonton and Porto are operated with a Boeing 787-10 and an Embraer E190 with 39 percent SAF in the fuel tanks respectively. In addition, KLM has made a number of weight savings on board. For example, business class passengers can order their meals in advance and the water requirement is predicted with artificial intelligence. The location of the center of gravity has been optimized and an ideal flight route without detours has been mapped out together with the air traffic control involved. Finally, the leading transport companies were asked to drive electrically or on biodiesel. In total, about fifty new and existing sustainability initiatives have been applied to the two KLM flights.
The performance of the various airlines is judged by a six-member jury, led by former Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. The results will be announced at the end of June. The companies will share the acquired knowledge among themselves.
“In 2019, KLM reached out to the sector with Fly Responsibly, in which we called for collaboration and sharing best practices to make flying more sustainable. Now it is time for the next step and a concrete challenge: which airline can carry out a long and a shorter flight as sustainably as possible? The great thing about The Sustainable Flight Challenge is first of all the enthusiasm within all parts of KLM to come up with ideas to do this as well as possible. But I also find very positive the fact that the participating airlines share the lessons learned with each other and that both our customers and partners such as engine manufacturers and SAF producers are involved. This collaboration makes sustainability possible and feasible.”
René de Groot, COO KLM
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