SITA offers six months free data storage as airlines gear up for reporting at the start of EU ETS baseline year
Mon 21 Dec 2009 – Aviation IT specialist SITA is offering airlines six months free collection and storage of data required in compliance with the Aviation EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). This option within SITA’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) software, Aircraft Emissions Manager, will be placed at the disposal of airlines for this limited period as they prepare to begin recording of data for every flight from, to and within the European Union from 1 January 2010 – just over a week’s time. This important coming year is the baseline that will determine the level of allowances each operator will have until 2020. Meanwhile, Liberator has signed a five-year global reseller agreement with SITA regarding the Irish-based company’s fuel savings solution.
SITA has developed Aircraft Emissions Manager as the world’s first MRV software for accurate measurement – as per the Aviation EU ETS regulation requirements – of the carbon emissions and the tonne-kilometres flown by aircraft operators. This new ‘Safeguard’ initiative enables airlines to save the operational data required for more than six months at zero cost. SITA says it will allow the operators extra time to prepare for emissions compliance and to choose the IT solution that best suits them while also helping them to avoid financial penalties.
Frédéric Falise, SITA’s Environmental Programme Director, said: “Most operational data required by the EU ETS is typically stored for less than three months so compliance is a major operational challenge for the airline community. Data reported and verified in 2010 will determine EU ETS allowances for eight years and, as an example, for a carrier with 40 aircraft this can have a value of €150 million ($215m).
“The EU ETS is the first trading system implemented which airlines must comply with and, essentially, SITA is enabling airlines to keep their options open when it comes to implementing a system to prepare their reports for the EU ETS. By authorizing SITA to store their data for the first six months of 2010 they are effectively taking out a free insurance policy. If the system they are currently planning is not successful their data will still be ready and they can easily switch to using SITA Aircraft Emissions Manager.”
Under the agreement with Liberator, SITA will globally market and promote the award-winning Liberator Fuel Index (LFI) system, which will be rebranded and integrated with SITA’s Flight Operations portfolio to deliver analysis, reporting and cost-saving capabilities to airlines.
“Fluctuating fuel costs represent the single biggest commercial challenge to airlines. Huge effort is invested in reducing fuel burn with initiatives including air traffic management, continuous descent profiles, single engine taxi and overall weight reduction,” said Liberator Founder and Joint Managing Director, Tony McDermott. “Liberator offers an added dimension in the quest for reducing annual fuel burn by up to 2% and we are delighted to be working with SITA, who are the leaders in the provision of value based solutions to the air transport industry.
“Establishing a partnership with SITA gives Liberator access to markets and opportunities that would just not be possible for us to achieve on our own. It is encouraging that SITA continues to expand its portfolio by selecting best-of-breed products like the LFI system. This deal moves Liberator into the ‘big league’ and comes on the back of our six-year track record of improving operational efficiency for some of the world’s leading airlines. I am confident that together we will deliver tangible benefits to the airline community.”
Liberator targets fuel savings through focusing on better loading efficiency, heightened awareness of the cost of weight carried and more accurate payload planning. It currently monitors operational performance for flights departing from 70 airports in Europe and South-East Asia for customer airlines.
