We all know that one of an aircraft’s enemies is weight, as that contributes to its fuel burn over its life. easyJet has partnered with Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings to reduce the amount of weight spent on an aircraft’s paintwork.
The methods they have used allow the easyJet livery colours of orange and white to be created at a lower weight than before. The solution has already been applied to 38 aircraft. Over time, this will be rolled out gradually to easyJet’s entire fleet, with the airline due to complete the transition by 2030.
For those thinking this is masses of kilograms in weight being shaved off, it has a rather modest reduction of 27kg in weight to the aircraft.
Whilst that is not a lot (An overweight piece of luggage can easily negate these benefits), context is king – with that 27kg being carried all the time (or until the aircraft next repaint). That in itself can lead to a lower fuel burn over the lifetime of the aircraft.
Combined with other methods to reduce fuel burn (such as more direct approaches, newer engines, sustainable fuel, and yes, lighter seats), it also reduces emissions.
The 38 easyJet planes that have been coated with the new paint are already delivering fuel savings thanks to their lighter weight and once rolled out to the entire fleet will account for a 1,296-tonne fuel reduction – equivalent to a 4,095-tonne reduction of carbon emissions.
easyJet has worked this out based on the following numbers:
- Based on 1 Aircraft per year (1800 sectors) – 3.6 tonnes of fuel/ 11.3 tonnes of CO2
- Based on 50 Aircraft per year – 180 tonnes of fuel/ 565 tonnes of CO2
- Based on future full fleet per year (full financial year 2029) – 1296 tonnes of fuel/ 4068 tonnes of CO2
In Quotes
Lahiru Ranasinghe, Director of Sustainability at easyJet, said:
“easyJet is constantly exploring and developing innovative solutions to lower the impact of our operations. While this forms a small part of a bigger strategy, formulating a new lightweight paint with our partners at Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings exemplifies how we’re assessing every single part of our operation to find efficiency gains to help us achieve this mission.”
Andrew Richardson, Aviation Sales Manager at Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings added:
“We are pleased to have been easyJet’s chosen coatings partner for the last 15 years and to have worked on this sustainability driven project. Sustainability and Environmental guardianship are at the heart of Mankiewicz’s core values and being able to work closely with easyJet on this has been very rewarding.”
Richard Marston, Chief Commercial Officer at MAAS Aviation added:
“Environmental responsibility is taken extremely seriously throughout our operations at MAAS. We work closely with our supply chain to ensure we use the latest technology products that deliver the highest standards of performance and finish, while reducing the impact on the world around us. We are very proud to be part of such a groundbreaking initiative.”
Every gram of weight continues to matter
Ultimately, a heavier aircraft of any sort will require more fuel to complete a mission, compared to a lighter aircraft. Thus airlines are seeking every way to reduce weight – be it incentivising passenger behaviour (by carrying less luggage and reducing costs, whilst charging those who want to bring heavy bags more), to lighter seats installed on an aircraft (thus reducing the amount of weight), to optimised landing and takeoff patterns (that in turn reduce fuel burn).
Paint is another place that over time will add up to a reduction in fuel burn, and thus aid easyJet it is its emissions reduction journey, as it seeks to shed every gram of weight – and thus reduce emissions, the fuel burn and the associated fuel bill that goes with it.
And you thought your January diet looked awful.
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