Aviation industry players collaborate on first regional aviation ‘Perfect Flight’ in Sweden

Thursday 16th May 2019

• 
• 

Today, a number of companies from across the aviation sector have risen to the challenge of turning a typical weekday service from Halmstad City airport (HAD/ESMT) to Stockholm Bromma airport (BMA/ESSB) into the ‘Perfect Flight’.

This is the first time that every element in the flight management process on a regional flight has been optimised to keep carbon emissions to a minimum and achieve the ‘Perfect Flight’ - in Sweden, a country that is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2045. A full flight of seventy two passengers, including international media, were on board the Braathens Regional Airlines ATR 72-600 turboprop, the regional aircraft with the best environmental credentials, which took one hour to reach its destination.

According to ATR, the ATR 72-600 has an environmental advantage, in that it produces 40 percent fewer carbon emissions per trip compared with regional jets, saving 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per aircraft per year. ATRs can also take off and land where other aircraft cannot ensuring accessibility to all airfields, including those that are the most challenging. This helps connect more communities and provides more opportunities for people, wherever they live.

With the electrification of commercial aircraft thought to be decades away, advances in aircraft efficiency and the use of sustainable aviation fuel are likely to play a significant role in supporting the aviation industry to meet its ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions to half 2005 levels by 2050.

The Perfect Flight was powered by sustainable aviation fuel supplied by Air BP and produced by Neste. The fuel supplied will produce up to 80 percent fewer emissions over its life-cycle compared with conventional jet fuel and is produced from non-palm renewable and sustainable raw materials. In addition, Air BP’s operations at Halmstad City airport are one of their over 250 locations that have been certified as carbon neutral since 2016.

Following the flight, a responsible aviation seminar was held at Stockholm Bromma airport where the crew shared the results of how the ‘Perfect Flight’ had been achieved. A host of experts shared their views including Peter Larsson - CEO of Sweden’s Regional Airports, Jonas Bergman - Mayor of Halmstad, Tom Anderson - ATR Senior Vice President, Programs and Customer Services, Anna Soltorp - Head of Sustainability, BRA and Tom Parsons, Air BP Commercial Development Manager, Low Carbon, and Andreas Teir, Neste's Vice President in Renewable Transportation, Nordics.

From his seat on the Perfect Flight, Parsons said: “At Air BP we are committed to working across the industry to meet our collective carbon reduction goals. Today has highlighted what is possible when we all work together and we are proud to have been the supplier of sustainable aviation fuel for this perfect flight. We will continue to look for ways to reduce emissions in our own operations and for our customers.” 

Meanwhile, Soltorp commented: “We want to continue to fly ‘perfectly’ in the future. To achieve this, it is important that we can access sustainable aviation fuel in sufficient quantities and at the right price. For that we need political initiatives. We intend to continue the development of sustainable flying to make every flight as close to perfect as we possibly can. As a society we need to take action to combat climate change and drastically reduce emissions, aviation must play its part in this. Today, we have demonstrated what can be achieved through more efficient flying without compromising connectivity. It is another positive step forwards.”

Anderson added: “Today, using existing technology and available solutions, we have pushed the boundaries even further. This great achievement wouldn’t have been possible without using an ATR aircraft, as our ATR 72-600 version uses 40 percent less fuel and emits 40 percent less CO₂ than a regional jet. We are delighted to have taken up this challenge and demonstrate what is possible, which will hopefully set an example for other communities around the world.”

Teir commented: "Aviation stakeholders in Sweden have adopted a proactive approach to show their commitment to reducing emissions from their operations by promoting the use of renewable jet fuel. Decarbonizing aviation calls for close cooperation between aviation stakeholders combined with a strong willingness to work collaboratively. We are proud of our partnership with Air BP in bringing sustainable jet fuel to Sweden, which sends a strong signal to the international aviation community also."

About Braathens Regional Airlines, BRA

Braathens Regional Airlines operates to most cities in Sweden out of all domestic airlines. Braathens Regional Airlines collaborates with Finnair for flights to Helsinki from Umeå and from Visby in the summer. Braathens Regional Airlines also operates to Berlin from Växjö and to Lyon from Gothenburg.

With 2.2 million annual passengers, mainly business travelers, Braathens Regional Airlines has a market share of domestic flights of approximately 30%.

As of April 1, 2019, Braathens Regional Airlines is the only commercial airline in the world to compensate for all emissions of GHG, included in the ticket fare. Braathens Regional Airlines offers all travelers the choice of fossil-free biofuel when booking the air travel. Already in 2009, the airline became the world's first commercial airline, environmentally certified by ISO 14001.

In 2016, Braathens Regional Airlines, was established after a merge of several regional airlines, but the company's flight DNA dates back to the 1940s Braathens S.A.F.E.

Braathens Regional Airlines is owned by the Swedish investment company Braganza, wholly owned by Per G. Braathen and his family.

About Air BP

As the aviation division of BP, Air BP is one of the world’s leading suppliers of aviation fuel products and services. We have been investing in the aviation industry for over 90 years to keep people flying safely around the world. We supply around 6.6 billion gallons of aviation fuel a year; fuelling over 6,000 flights a day at over 800 locations in more than 55 countries - that's more than four planes a minute.

Our customers include commercial airlines, the military, business and private aircraft owners, airports and airfield operators. We have a wide range of services to support our fuel offer including the design, build and operation of fuelling facilities, technical consultancy and training, low carbon solutions, the Sterling Card for efficient general aviation refuelling and innovative digital platforms to increase efficiency and reduce risk.

For more information, go to www.airbp.com

About Neste

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates sustainable solutions for transport, business, and consumer needs. Our wide range of renewable products enable our customers to reduce climate emissions. We are the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the aviation and plastics industries. We are also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products. We want to be a reliable partner with widely valued expertise, research, and sustainable operations. In 2018, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 14.9 billion. In 2019, Neste placed 3rd on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world. Read more: neste.com

About ATR

European turboprop manufacturer ATR is the world leader in the regional aviation market. ATR designs, manufactures and delivers modern regional aircraft, with a customer base fleet encompassing some 200 airlines in nearly 100 countries. The ATR 42 and the ATR 72 are the best-selling aircraft in the market segment of 90 seats or less. With continuous improvement as a driving force, ATR produces cutting edge, comfortable and versatile turboprops that help airlines expand their horizons by creating more than 100 new routes every year. Compared with other turboprops, ATRs offer an advantage of 40% on fuel burn, 20% on trip cost and 10% on seat cost, whilst offering the lowest CO2 and noise emissions. ATR is an equal partnership between leading aerospace firms Airbus and Leonardo and benefits from a large global customer support network allowing it to deliver innovative services and solutions to its clients and operators all over the world. For more information, please visit http://www.atr-aircraft.com.

About Halmstad City Airport

Halmstad City Airport is a typical city airport with all the advantages its intails. The airport is located only 3.5 kilometers from the city center of Halmstad. Each year we have a total of about 12,000 starts or landings. 2016-2017 the terminal building was rebuilt and it was also extended. The airport is now a modern airport with high comfort and functionality. 

Good aviation opportunities are today an important prerequisite for active and successful relationships within business, politics, sports and culture. Therefore, Halmstad City Airport has an important role in the development of our region.

The catchment area is large, with a radius of about 70 kilometers. We have travelers from all over the region of Halland and several municipalities in western part of Småland region which makes makes Halmstad City Airport the most convenient starting point for about 300,000 people.

Halmstad City Airport works carefully, dedicatedly and with set environmental and sustainability goals on a daily basis. 

Halmstad City Airport was one of the first airports in Sweden to offer our customers biojet fuel, which was in June 2017. Also since June 2017 all our ground vehicles used in our business at the airport is 100% fossil free, since October 2018 we have 223 solar panels on our terminal roof in order to produce electricity for our own usage where the production is estimated to just over 53,000 kWh per year, we have LED lightning in our terminal building with a lifetime of approximately 50,000 hours, we have LED lighting on our parking with a lifetime of between 10-12 years, and in the autumn of 2019 we will install LED lighting on the runway and we offer travelers with electric cars to charge them at the destination charges that we have and we have included the charge fee in the parking fee.