Airbus, Air Canada Make North America’s Most Efficient Flight

Airbus SAS and Air Canada (AC/B) are making North America’s first “perfect flight” today as they combine the most efficient aircraft, biofuel and even lightweight cabin equipment to cut energy and carbon emissions to a minimum.

The commercial flight on an Airbus A319 from Toronto to Mexico City uses a “state-of-the-art” aircraft, powered by sustainable fuels and guided by “streamlined” air-traffic control, Airbus said in an e-mailed statement.

Airlines won approval from the U.S. technical standards body last July to fly passenger planes using a 50-50 blend of petroleum-based fuel and biofuel. In October, Airbus and Air France-KLM Group said they made the world’s greenest commercial flight from Toulouse to Paris, using a cooking oil-based fuel, taking the shortest available route and applying a so-called continuous descent approach, cutting emissions in half.

“The aviation industry is in a strong position to reduce emissions and fly many more perfect flights,” Airbus Chief Executive Officer Fabrice Bregier said in the statement. “To make this a day-to-day commercial reality, it requires now a political will to foster incentives.”

Today’s flight will reduce carbon-dioxide output by an estimated 40 percent compared with a regular flight, according to Toulouse-based Airbus. The aviation industry is aiming to cut emissions in half by 2050 from 2005 levels.

To contact the reporter on this story: Louise Downing in London at Ldowning4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net