SkyTeam Sustainable Flight Challenge

SkyTeam sustainable flight challenge

In May, 16 out of the 18 SkyTeam airlines took part in the Sustainable Flight Challenge.

This is an initiative, where alliance members were invited to see who could find the most sustainable way to operate one single flight in their existing networks.

The inspiration of the challenge, which came from KLM staff, was the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from London to Melbourne.

Here are a few of the initiatives from it that caught our eye:

Aeromexico

Aeromexico chose a flight to Vancouver for the sustainable flight challenge.

Each passenger received a reusable cup to drink their drinks throughout the flight, the use of plastic was minimised, the blankets used on these flights was created from the recycling of PET bottles and plastics and sustainable products and catering were offered on board.

Aeromexico also agreed during the flight to double each passenger donation to its Vuela Verde voluntary carbon-offsetting program, which supports sustainable projects throughout Mexico.

Viasat partnered with Aeromexico to allow the airline to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi to the passengers on board.

When connecting to the onboard Wi-Fi, passengers were presented with an option for sponsored internet.

After clicking on the banner, customers were directed to an Aeromexico webpage detailing the steps taken to reduce the environmental impact of their special flight.

Air France

Air France’s entry to the challenge focused on two commercial flights, one to Montreal operated by an Airbus A350 and the other to Lisbon on May 4, 2022, operated by an Airbus A220.

Air France says that these newer aircraft consume 20 to 25 per cent less fuel than previous generation aircraft.

The Air France flight to Montreal was fuelled with 16 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and the flight to Lisbon with 30 per cent SAF.

Air France’s flights were part of the wider “Air France ACT“ initiative, a programme that aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 per cent per passenger-km by 2030 compared to 2019.

This is backed up by a slick and informative website.

China Airlines

China Airlines participated in the “Sustainable Flight Challenge” on flight CI-753 from Taipei to Singapore.

Up to 100 environmental and carbon reduction initiatives, such as fuel-efficiency route planning, apron operations, online check-in, and in-flight catering and amenities, were implemented to make the flight more sustainable.

Passengers were encouraged to take public transport to the airport, thereby cutting their own footprint, and invited to take part in eight challenges, such as pre-ordering meals (to save flight weight) and bringing eco-friendly bags to carry duty free items. Each successful challenge completed saw the passenger get 100 miles as a reward.

Delta

Delta’s contribution to the challenge was to take what it says is its most fuel-efficient aircraft in-service today, the 737-900ER, and powering it with a fuel blend that included 400 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel.

With the flight departing for Salt Lake City, this is a record for the largest amount of SAF used on a flight out of Atlanta.

Delta says that it has also been looking holistically at the impact of its operations, and as part of that, is focusing on reducing waste and contributing to a more sustainable aviation industry.

Customers received Delta’s new premium and eco-conscious amenity kits, which eliminates five single-use plastic items per kit. These kits were created in partnership with Someone Somewhere, a Certified B Corporation that combines Mexican traditional handcrafts with innovative products. Delta’s partnership with the brand has created jobs for more than 250 people in five of Mexico’s most vulnerable states.

Customers seated in First Class, also selected from an array of more sustainable menu offerings, such as meat sourced from ranches that practise regenerative land management and locally grown vegetables. First Class customers also chose their meals before boarding, allowing for weight optimisation.

Kenya Aiways

In line with the country being known for its landscapes and wildlife, Kenya Airways focused on environmental conservation and worked closely with its partners, suppliers, and guests across the customer journey to support the reduction of carbon emissions during this flight.

The airline optimised fuel use for the specially selected flight by; selecting the best route based on the most efficient climb and cruise speeds, planning at the optimum cruise flight levels, and working with the various air traffic services to achieve the shortest routes across the various airspaces.

Guests on board were served with an Eco-friendly menu prepared in partnership with catering partner NAS.

The ingredients for the meals were sourced from local Kenyan farmers who specialise in growing organic vegetables and fruits, organic chicken and supplemented with fresh herbs from NAS in-house greenhouse.

KLM

A KLM flight to Edmonton and a KLM Cityhopper flight to Porto, operated by the Boeing 787-10 and Embraer 190 respectively, were powered by a fuel blend consisting of 39% SAF.

KLM says that both flights saw a wide array of new weight-reduction measures on board.

World Business Class passengers were asked to choose their preferred meal in advance, for example, and AI modelling was used to predict inflight water requirements, ensuring that the precise volume was catered.

Passengers were told that they were on a special flight, and were given information on how they can travel more sustainably, for example by supporting the airline’s CO2ZERO compensation programme or by contributing to SAF.

Pilots also worked with air traffic controllers to fly the most efficient route, avoiding the detours that flights often face.

KLM says that. a total of more than 50 existing and new measures were taken aboard both flights.

Saudia Saudia, the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, operated the world’s longest net positive flight thanks to a partnership with Enviro-tech business CarbonClick.

A total of 346 tonnes of carbon emissions, including radiative forcing impacts by a factor of two, were offset on a commercial passenger flight SV227, from Jeddah to Madrid, making the flight net-positive.

In total, over 150 ideas were crowd sourced on how Saudia can become more sustainable.

CarbonClick took the contribution from Saudia and put it towards the generation of clean wind electricity for communities in India. From the offsets bought, wind turbines can be powered for 26 days, generating clean energy for the local population.

CarbonClick also provided a landing page for guests on all Saudia flights allowing them to voluntarily offset the carbon emission of their travel.

Guests who visit this page will be able to calculate the CO2 impact of their flight and make a contribution towards climatefriendly travel, receiving a verified receipt to fully-traceable carbon offsets. Passengers on board the flight were told about its sustainability mission, both on the ground in JED and on board.

(Note - Our parent company SimpliFlying’s consultancy division was involved in coming up with this initiative, and helping to make it happen. For more information, contact Shashank Nigam - shashank AT simpliflying.com) Key takeaways

This was fundamentally a great initiative and good idea, and the efforts from Air France, KLM, Aeromexico and Saudia in particular, stand out.

It encouraged airlines to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sustainable aviation, in a spirit of friendly competition.

We do wonder whether SkyTeam could have made more of this campaign. There was some coverage on the SkyTeam Facebook page for some (but not all) the participants, but as far as we could see, there was no press release about it.

As a result, it was hard to find a list of all the different airline entries. Hopefully when the judging takes place and the winners are announced, more content will be created around the different flights.