Southwest rolls out ‘green plane’ to show commitment to environment

By Richard N. Velotta

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 3 a.m.

Southwest Airlines hopes to enhance its reputation for being green, as in profitable, by being “green,” as in environmentally responsible, with new initiatives that not only move the needle on sustainability, but should save it millions of dollars.

The airline at its annual media day unveiled a Boeing 737 jet loaded with environmental extras that reduce its weight, making it more fuel-efficient. Two artificial leather seat covers are lighter than the ones they replaced and newly installed interior floor coverings are recyclable.

Airline officials explained its route navigation performance program, coupled with a next-generation air traffic control system, would save millions of dollars in fuel consumption.

The broad message Southwest is trying to convey: It wants to be a key player in sustainability programs in the aviation industry.

That, indirectly, could head off possible cap-and-trade proposals it said would be costly not only to it, but rival airlines.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelley said it is taking the initiative with its green plane to show that conservation is the responsible thing to do, and it can also be profitable.

“Aviation has a great story to tell,” Kelley told the media gathered in a hangar around the jet that will demonstrate the airline’s commitment to the environment. “We know climate change remains of vital importance to our industry, our company and our customers, so Southwest works hard every day in every area to be a responsible steward of the environment.”

The “green plane,” which bears a special Southwest recycling symbol with a heart and green arrows atop a set of flight wings, is testing several eco-friendly products to determine what works best.

On board the plane:

• InterfaceFLOR carpet, which is installed in sections instead of as a single piece. What that means is that carpet can be replaced where the wear is greatest and not over the entire floor. In addition, the InterfaceFLOR is 100 percent recyclable and can be manufactured into new pieces, making it completely carbon-neutral.

• New life vest pouches, which are made of lightweight durable canvas instead of metal. The pouches are a pound lighter than the container, making the entire plane about 138 pounds lighter. They also take up less room, allowing for larger carry-on pieces under the seat.

• A lighter-weight fill by Garnier PurTEC is being used on seat backs, which the airline said is more comfortable as well as reduces weight.

• Recyclable aluminum passenger seat rub strips mounted on each seat will be more durable, the airline says, which will reduce waste because they won’t have to be replaced as often.

• Two types of seat covers are being tested and will be evaluated for wear. On one side of the aisle are seat covers made by e-Leather, which uses recycled materials discarded by the leather industry. On the other side will be covers made by IZIT Leather. They retain the appearance and touch of leather, but are made of lightweight calf skin. Both seat covers look like the traditional leather seats, but the new covers are about 2 pounds lighter, saving more than 250 pounds.

Kelley’s team also explained how the aviation industry’s long-sought next-generation air traffic control system would trim flight times and reduce fuel burn. Southwest has committed $175 million over six years to invest in the so-called required navigation performance system and has begun training pilots on its use.

The savings appear to be minimal: For every mile flown, the new technology would cut 12.25 seconds of flight time, save 29.3 pounds of fuel and eliminate 91.9 pounds of carbon dioxide and 0.34 pounds of nitrogen oxide in exhaust.

Southwest tested the system’s effectiveness by spending two years with regulators to run test flights between Dallas and Houston. The airline needed permission to use new technology that would be commonplace if a next-generation system were installed. The result surprised even Southwest’s officials, who calculated a 6 percent savings in fuel usage alone.

Considering that Southwest flies more than 3,300 flights a day an average distance of 635 miles per flight, the savings would be dramatic. The airline calculated that it could save 90.6 million gallons of fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.9 billion pounds a year.

Extrapolating those figures to the aviation industry nationwide, fuel consumption could be cut by 760 million gallons and carbon dioxide emissions by 16 billion pounds a year.

Southwest also showed the media an engine-washing system developed by manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. The EcoWash system uses no chemicals and the closed-loop system lets no runoff escape into the environment.

The water flushed through the engines is filtered and recycled. Southwest’s aggressive washing schedule enables crews at two airports to wash four engines a day. Cleaner engines operate more efficiently and produce fewer emissions, and Southwest figures it has saved 82 million pounds of fuel and reduced carbon emissions by 260 million pounds in a year.

Southwest, McCarran International’s busiest carrier, also announced plans to fly to a new city in northwest Florida.

When the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport in Panama City, Fla., opens in May, Southwest will make it the airline’s 68th destination.

Kelley said the airline’s schedule for Panama City-Bay County would include eight flights to four destinations, but there was no announcement about which cities would get nonstop flights. Fares and schedules will be announced in December when ticket sales start.

Southwest is inaugurating service to four cities in 2009 after not opening any in 2008. The airline began flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Boston’s Logan International Airport earlier this year and will start flights to Milwaukee on Nov. 1.

Kelley said the northwest Florida Gulf Coast is one of the most underserved tourist regions in the country. The new airport — the first in the nation to have a terminal that will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified — is the first international commercial-service airport built in the United States in 15 years. The new airport replaces one built in 1948.