THAI lays out carbon emission reduction plans

16 Jan 2012

Thai Airways has said it will introduce several measures in an effort to cut down on its carbon emissions. The Thai national flag carrier says it will replace onboard cold drink plastic cups with laminated ones made out of paper that has been recycled.

THAI also ran performance tests on an e-boarding pass system at the end of last year. When the scheme is implemented, passengers with a smart mobile phone will have an image of their boarding pass transferred to it at the time they check in.

The digital boarding pass will show a barcode, and flight and seat numbers. Passengers will be able to pass to the airside area and boarding gates when the image is scanned at checkpoints.

In December, THAI ran a test flight between Bangkok and Chiang Mai which used a 50-50 mix of petrol and bio-fuel. The prototype fuel was supplied by the Petroleum Authority of Thailand and had been imported.

One hour of flying time used up eight tons of the fuel and the airline says it cost them seven times the amount that regular aviation fuel would have for the same trip. THAI president Piyasvasti Amranand said that even though the bio-fuel mix was expensive at the moment, the price of it should drop in the future.

Mr Amranand said that the airline was working hard to try and cut five per cent of its carbon emission before the year 2020. He added that THAI was striving hard to become a greener airline and also to comply with European Union directives requiring airlines flying there to reduce their emissions.

Tags: THAI carbon emission