Finnair has unveiled a number of new initiatives to help it become a carbon neutral airline by 2045.
From the end of April the company will stop selling products on its Europe services by removing the heavy trolleys - which could save 50kg to 100kg weight every flight. Instead, the company says it will focus on pre-flight sales instead.
The airline hopes this strategy alone will help cut 70,000kg of fuel consumption each year, and reduce CO2 emissions by 220,000kg.
“The ambitious targets we have announced are achievable through the tangible steps we’ve described which we know will make a real contribution to CO2 reduction” says Anne Larilahti, Finnair’s Vice President of Sustainability.
“By working together with our customers, partners and our employees we can embrace this challenge with confidence. We want to encourage innovation and engagement, from our customers to our staff to our supply chain to show Finnair can lead the way to make a real difference” she explains.
Another environmentally friendly initiative is to remove 230 tonnes of plastic from flights and cut the use of single use plastics in half by the end of 2022.
The airline already slashed 80,000kg of plastic through increased recycling and smarter material choices - and the next move will be to replace plastic cutlery for economy meals with more sustainable products.
More fuel-efficient aircraft, new biofuel deal
Finnair is also spending up to €4 billion in new planes between this year and 2025. The next generation aircraft will significantly reduce CO2 emissions, by as much as 15% in European traffic.
But it’s the new partnership with Neste that will increase Finnair’s use of sustainable aviation fuel - but also boost the production of that type of product in Finland.
The idea is to make sustainable aviation fuel more readily available - and more affordable - not just for Finnair but to the wider airline industry as well. The fuel which Neste produces is compatible with current jet fuel and is mixed in.
“Our number one goal is to reduce our own CO2 emissions by investing in new aircraft technology, by flying fuel-efficiently, by decreasing aircraft weight and by increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuels” says Finnair’s CEO Topi Manner.
“We are also investing in innovation and research to create future solutions that support our long-term target of carbon neutrality” Manner adds.
The airline expects to spend €10 million each year on sustainable aviation fuels by 2025.
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