[News Article] Korean Air flies toward greener skies with sustainability strategies
Korean Air flies
toward greener skies with sustainability strategies
BY SEO JI-EUN, Korea
JoongAng Daily - Korean Air Lines is participating in a range of activities
aimed at reducing carbon emissions in order to make good on its commitment to
reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The country’s
largest airline made the pledge at this year’s International Air Transport
Association (IATA) general meeting, convened in Istanbul in June, where the
company presented its ongoing projects related to the commitment. A main pillar of the
efforts concerns the adoption of eco-friendly aviation fuels for its aircraft,
alongside the recycling of retired airplanes and other materials. Korean Air started
using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a term referring to the fuels sourced
from sustainable resources like plant-based oils, seaweed and urban waste
gases. The biofuel is
capable of reducing carbon emission by up to 80 percent, compared to
conventional aviation fuels, according to the airline, although it is two to
five times more expensive. Its aircraft for the
Chicago-Incheon route in 2017 marked the first use of SAF, and the company
extended the use to regular routes, including Paris-Incheon, last year. Korean Air also
invited its cargo clients to join the cause through an initiative called Cargo
SAF Program earlier this month. The program is designed to encourage the
customers to purchase the biofuel option that it uses and share the result of
the shift in fuel. The endeavor is in
line with the focus of Korea’s top brass.
"The topics of
global warming, climate change, and environmental destruction, which have been
resurfaced for many years, are not something to be addressed by future
generations," said Hanjin Group Chairman Walter Cho in Korean Air's ESG
report this year. "Instead, they are the pressing concerns that our
generation must tackle right now." Another main driver
is the so-called upcycling, which transforms retired aviation assets into new
items. In 2021, it introduced the first upcycled goods crafted from
decommissioned aircraft — 4,000 name tags made from a Boeing-777 aircraft that
flew for 100,682 hours for 23 years. The repurposed goods
sold out within a day, mainly thanks to aviation enthusiasts on the hunt for
novel items related to aircraft. Subsequent releases
of name tags and golf ball markers, featuring materials from Boeing 747-400 and
Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, also enjoyed widespread popularity. Leveraging its
aviation operations and expertise in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Korean
Air is contributing to the development of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), which is
hailed as a promising next-generation transportation mode due to low noise and
emissions, alongside the potential to alleviate traffic congestion. Korean Air's
involvement in state-funded projects like UAM Team Korea and partnerships with
Incheon International Airport Corporation and the Korea Aerospace Research
Institute underscores its commitment to leading the transition toward a more
environmentally sustainable society. In securing new
fleets, the company is also focused on increasing the portion of fuel-efficient
aircraft. Recent acquisitions, including the A220-300, A321neo, B787-9, and
B737-8, boast significantly lower carbon emissions per seat compared to their
predecessors by 15 to 25 percent, according to the company. Korean Air plans to
procure 90 such new aircraft by 2028. Source:https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-09-20/business/industry/Korean-Air-flies-towards-greener-skies-with-sustainability-strategies/1873646
2023.09.22
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