American and DFW Airport are hosting a "Flying
Sustainably" Expo today at the airport to showcase their
joint and individual environmental initiatives.
American's dedication to being a positive steward of the
environment in all aspects of its operations is a
longstanding commitment. Several of the airline's
subject-matter experts and program leaders will be at
the expo to share background information and success
stories about the following initiatives, among others:
•Fuel Smart: Thanks to the dedication of American's
people, more than 700 million gallons of fuel have been
saved and 7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions have been eliminated since the program began
in 2005 – the equivalent of removing 1.23 million cars
from the road.
•Fleet renewal: In July 2011, American placed the
largest aircraft order in aviation history: 460
narrowbody jets from Boeing and Airbus, to be delivered
in 2013 through 2022. These new aircraft will provide
significant environmental benefits compared to the
aircraft they will replace.
•ecoDemonstrator
program: Boeing's ecoDemonstrator program, established
through the FAA's Continuous Lower Energy Emissions
Noise (CLEEN) program, aims to accelerate the
advancement of environmental technologies. American is
the first airline to participate in the initial test
phase, and in August 2012, American allowed Boeing to
borrow one of its new 737-800 aircraft to flight-test
emerging technologies in the areas of fuel efficiency,
noise reduction and operational efficiency.
•Paperless cockpit initiative: In August 2012, American
became the first commercial carrier to receive FAA
approval to use the Apple iPad as an Electronic Flight
Bag in the cockpit during all phases of flight and will
be the first domestic airline to have an all-electronic
flight bag operation by the end of 2012. This initiative
will mean an estimated $1.2 million in annual savings.
With more than a decade in practice and development, DFW
Airport's sustainability program recognizes that
environmental improvement is an economic, social and
business imperative for the airport and for the
community it serves. Sustainability touches everyone,
and DFW Airport strives to play a vital role to ensure a
brighter tomorrow for its people and its Dallas/Fort
Worth neighbors.
Examples of DFW Airport's successes are abundant:
•Vehicle Emissions: DFW's vehicle fleet has been almost
completely converted to clean burning compressed natural
gas (CNG), saving DFW millions in fuel costs and cutting
the airport's carbon emissions by more than 95 percent
since 2000.
•Energy: DFW's adoption of "continuous commissioning" to
fine-tune building heating and cooling systems has
significantly lowered energy consumption across the
airport.
•Energy: In the summer, DFW takes its air conditioning
systems offline during peak demand hours and cools six
million square feet of terminal space with super-cooled
water pumped from its Energy Plaza, freeing enough
electricity back to the grid to power thousands of local
homes.
•Water: New plumbing fixtures in bathrooms across all
five airport terminals have cut DFW's customer water
usage by 50 percent, saving 5.5 million gallons of water
each month.
•Recycling: Almost half of the materials pulled from the
airport's terminal renovation project have been recycled
or diverted from landfills.
•Renewable Energy: Currently, about 30 percent of
DFW's annual electric usage comes from renewable
sources, and that number is growing as DFW seeks
more renewable sources of energy such as wind power.
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