Fuel management software company FuelPlus launches emissions product in time for EU ETS deadlines
Bangkok Airways has signed up for Liberator’s Fuel Savings Programme
Tue 24 Mar 2009 – German fuel management software provider FuelPlus Software has launched a new product, FuelPlus Emissions, to allow airlines to meet upcoming EU deadlines for reporting and tracking aircraft emissions. It will enable carriers that are to be included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to track, report and forecast tonne-kilometre data and aircraft emissions for every flight and every type of fuel. Meanwhile, Dublin-based Liberator.aero has won a contract to provide Bangkok Airways with its LFI Fuel Savings Programme.
FuelPlus Emissions can be installed by itself or together with existing FuelPlus software, with installation and testing undertaken in less than two weeks. The product will be available in July and the features will include:
·processing of transportation data (#passengers, mass of freight) as part of flight event data;
·processing of ZFW (zero fuel weight) and DOW (dry operating weight) as part of flight event data;
·calculation of fuel consumption according to MRV guidelines;
·calculation of actual emission data per flight event; and
·templates for emission and tonne-kilometre reporting.
An updated module will be rolled out in December with additional features, including forecasting of emissions based on flight schedules, variance reporting planned against actual emissions and reporting on expected emissions for current year. A further release is planned in June 2010.
The product is based on actual flight events and fuel delivery information. A variance report will show how actual operations compare with the airline’s planning and, after the ETS starts in 2012, will help the airline decide whether to buy or sell emissions credits.
Before FuelPlus Emissions becomes available, the company will be holding three seminars during next month to help airlines plan how to meet ETS regulations.
“Aviation needs a reliable system to track and report emissions,” comments Klaus-Peter Warnke, Managing Director of FuelPlus. “The absence of reliability could have far-reaching financial consequences for the airline business, since the financial ramifications of emissions planning is only starting to be revealed in these new EU rules.”
The company believes that emissions planning will become a component in the route planning process of the airline industry. As the financial implications of a high-emissions route are taken into consideration, it says, the ability of a route to cost the airline more or to generate an emissions reduction and financial savings will become more critical as new rules and prices are introduced.
“The key will be for airlines to implement reliable systems that will be the most efficient now and that will evolve as the industry changes,” says Warnke.
Meanwhile, Liberator.aero has signed a three-year deal with Asia’s award-winning ‘boutique’ airline Bangkok Airways for the provision of its LFI Fuel Savings Programme. The CO2 emissions measurement module of the programme will provide the airline with an auditable facility to measure its emissions per flight and per 100 passenger kilometres.
Liberator says that savings of 2% of an airline’s annual fuel bill can be targeted through focusing on better loading efficiency.
“Fluctuating fuel costs represent the single biggest commercial challenge to airlines,” says Liberator’s Joint Managing Director, Kevin Pryor. “Huge effort is invested in reducing fuel burn with initiatives including air traffic management, continuous descent, single-engine taxi and weight reduction. Liberator offers an added dimension in the quest for reducing fuel burn and we are delighted to be working with such an innovative airline as Bangkok Airways in their focus to improve efficiency and reduce costs.”
The Liberator Fuel Index System has been developed over the past five years and has been deployed at Etihad Airways, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Finland’s Blue 1.
