Brent VanFossen, Engineer with a View

A Reuters Alert called “Global Warming and the Airline Industry examines the impact the airline industry and plane flights have on the issue of global warming from the European Union.

Aircraft taking off from airports in the European Union should join the bloc’s emissions trading scheme to cut greenhouse gases that damage the environment, the EU executive Commission proposed on Tuesday.

Here are some facts about the airline industry and its link to global warming:

- Some 16,000 commercial aircraft pump out 600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, consuming some 190 billion litres of jet fuel.

- Aviation causes 3.5 percent of man-made global warming, according to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change. This could rise to 15 percent by 2050.

- Within Europe the aviation sector produces about 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The European Union aims to halve carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft by 2020.

- Jet emissions include carbon dioxide, water vapour and nitrous oxides, at high altitude. Some experts say that flying is more damaging than driving as aircraft pollutants spewed high in the air enter the ozone layer straightaway.

The article goes on to list many more fact that may or may not be directly related to global warming. Airlines and the aircraft industry are currently working hard on minimizing fuel consumption, quieting aircraft noise, and reducing air pollution.

Working on the first Boeing 777, painted colorful cartoon designs from the child who won the award to paint the first 777, I have long been a fan of dolled up airplanes. So it was fun to see pictures of the Alaska Airlines “Salmon Thirty Salmon”, a delightful play on 737.

The “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon,” sporting the glimmering image of a wild Alaska king salmon, is among the world’s most intricately painted commercial airplanes. Complete with shiny scales, a dorsal fin and gills, the livery on the Alaska Airlines 737-400 passenger aircraft is the result of a dedicated team of 30 painters working nearly nonstop for 24 days.

The airplane symbolizes the critical role Alaska Airlines plays in transporting fresh Alaska seafood to the continental United States and beyond. The paint scheme was produced in partnership with the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board (AFMB), which promotes the export of Alaska seafood.

“This airplane celebrates Alaska Airlines’ unique relationship with the people and communities of Alaska and underscores our air transport commitment to the state’s seafood industry,” said Gregg Saretsky, Alaska Airlines’ executive vice president of marketing and planning. “Alaska seafood is more popular than ever, and Alaska Airlines is proud to play a role in getting much of it from the waters of Alaska to dinner tables across the country in record time.”

The fishy aircraft features an original design by Mark Boyle, Seattle-based wildlife artist who has gained quite a reputation as a designer of commercial aircraft art. According to the article, the project required “three times as many hours to paint as the normal livery, using Mylar paint to create an iridescent look and airbrushing techniques to make the fish painting appear three dimensional.”

New Scientist got a chance to fly in Boeing Connexion One, the test plane for the future of airplane travel. New Scientist reporter, Paul Marks, described the airplane trip:

On Friday, at 24,000 feet over the Irish Sea and travelling at 300 knots, the 20-year-old Boeing aeroplane in which New Scientist is flying experiences what many experts in radio interference might regard as a “nightmare scenario�.

Not only have the passengers been allowed to use cellphones in flight – not dreadful in itself perhaps – but the plane is stuffed with the latest technology, all potentially interfering with the plane’s electronics. Wi-Fi transmitters pepper the ceiling and live television and internet signals are being delivered through a 1-metre-wide satellite dish in the top of the plane.

Boeing was demonstrating two of the technologies it thinks will make flying more fun. The plane – Connexion One – is the company’s in-flight entertainment test aircraft.

He goes on to describe wifi networks for Internet access, satellite receivers delivering live television, people chatting on cell phones, and more. Wireless Internet services have been available on many European and Asian airlines for over a year, part of the project I’m working on here in Alabama for Star Aviation and Boeing Connexion.

Connexion One’s pilot and captain Jim Ratley says even with all the electronic equipment the aircraft carries there have been no adverse effect on his flight instruments. He says: “The whole system is meant to be transparent to the pilot so we’re not aware it is there. We’ve never had any reportable emission problems from any cellphone.”

The Connexion One, along with Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, are setting the new standard in customer service for inflight services, while the FAA continues the debate for use of wireless and cell technology inflight.