Lufthansa Group expands operational efficiency programme

The aviation giant, which also owns Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Eurowings, said it had managed to “permanently avoid’ 170,000 tonnes of CO2 since 2022 through 90 separate projects.

Lufthansa said that it now aimed to avoid another 50,000 tonnes of CO2 annually by the end of 2028, which corresponds to a kerosene fuel saving of 15,200 metric tonnes.

Grazia Vittadini, chief technology officer of Lufthansa Group, said: “We embed sustainability where it has the most immediate impact - in the day-to-day operations of our airlines.

The sustainability programme, which was launched three years ago, has created a wide variety of projects to reduce carbon emissions by improving fuel efficiency.

These include single-engine taxiing, flight route optimisation, lighter onboard equipment, electric ground vehicles and using AI to improve inflight catering services.

The group said the next stage of this process would see the increased use of digital applications to make operations more efficient, including “more precise” decisions on the amount of fuel needed for a flight, as well as optimised taxiing and approach procedures.

Another initiative is Lufthansa’s AeroSHARK surface technology project, which has produced a special film that has been applied to the surface of more than 20 aircraft.

The company said this film “mimics the aerodynamic properties of shark skin” and helps to reduce drag – leading to lower fuel consumption and a CO2 emissions reduction of around 1 per cent per flight.

Alongside these fuel efficiency gains, the group is also focused on the increased use of alternative aviation fuels, including its “green fares” and other initiatives to encourage the further uptake of these fuels by corporate clients.

Lufthansa has also introduced an environmental surchargeof between €1 and €72 to cover the “steadily increasing costs” of sustainability regulations, including the EU’s new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate.