Will Use All Routing, Efficiency Advantages Available

On December 15, Emirates will trial a new environmental program to execute the longest green journey. The program, to be analyzed and reviewed on the airline's inaugural flight from Dubai to San Francisco, will represent the world's first cross-polar green flight.

Emirates worked closely with government agencies in Dubai, Russia, Iceland, Canada and the United States and other countries to plot what it calls the "Emvironment" flight, the most environmentally-sophisticated route and trip possible to help save an estimated range of approximately 2,000 gallons of fuel and 30,000 pounds of carbon emissions on the 16-hour direct service.

The inaugural green flight will demonstrate multiple fuel and emission-saving measures, including priority taxi and departure clearances; a pre-planned priority departure route out of Dubai, providing an unimpeded climb through to cruise altitude; direct routing over Russian and Canadian airspace, with "flexible" routing available over the latter; and a continuous descent to landing at SFO, if able.

Emirates will even "specially" wash the Boeing 777-200LR to minimize drag, and the airliner will use electrical power on the ground in Dubai rather than running its auxiliary power unit. The airliner will taxi on one engine after landing, and all onboard newspapers, cups and aluminum cans will be collected for recycling.

"After months of planning, Emirates' Emvironment flight is a best-practice trial of how airlines, governments, manufacturers, technology providers and airports can work together to be as eco-efficient as possible," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group. "The San Francisco inaugural flight will be a dual milestone of commencing services between two great cities and also demonstrating the best our industry can offer in environmental efficiency. We have made a multi-billion-dollar investment in new state-of-the-art eco-efficient aircraft, and the flight will help us to further improve our environmental performance."

The Emvironment flight will cross near the North Pole following a long-term program of tests and negotiations involving various governments and manufacturers. Emirates aided in the process by operating three flights over the Polar region to evaluate the route and operating conditions and ultimately facilitate use of the Polar Route airspace corridor.

FMI: www.emirates.com/usa