“We’re going green—and the world is taking notice!”
Robert Isom
CEO
American Airlines
.…on winning Transport World’s 2023 Eco-Airline of the Year award, via Instagram.
Air Transport World announced today that American Airlines has been named the 2023 Eco-Airline of the Year.
ATW lauded American’s work to run a more fuel-efficient operation with more fuel-efficient aircraft powered increasingly by low-carbon fuel and new technology.
Writing on Instagram, Isom said American’s team “is taking action to incorporate sustainability at every level of our business, from the fuel we buy to how we design our airports and offices. And our all-of-the-above approach is just getting started.”
“As Eco-Airline of the Year, we’ll continue to lead the industry as an innovator in this space and keep building an American Airlines that will thrive forever,” Isom added. “After all, a world worth traveling is a world worth protecting.”
Investing in hydrogen-electric engines and a hydrogen fuel network
In December, we noted that American Airlines was the only passenger airline to make the list of the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index.
In October, we wrote about American making a $5 million “strategic equity investment” in Los Angeles’ Universal Hydrogen Co., a startup developing a hydrogen fuel distribution and logistics network for the aviation industry in the U.S. and Europe. That followed an August investment of at least $5 million in California-based hydrogen-electric engine developer ZeroAvia’s Series B funding round.
American says its ongoing fleet renewal efforts have also helped it improve fuel efficiency by more than 10% since 2013—helping to save nearly 2 billion gallons of fuel and preventing the release of 19 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Today, half of American’s U.S. mainline fleet is less than 10 years old, the airline said.
“At a time when sustainability is a driving force in the aviation industry, American Airlines has a clear vision for the future of sustainable aviation and is making meaningful strides to reach their goals,” ATW Editor-in-Chief Karen Walker said in a statement. “With a comprehensive carbon emissions reduction strategy that touches nearly every part of their company, awarding Eco-Airline of the Year to American is incredibly well-deserved in what was the most competitive field yet.”
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In this week’s roundup of hires, promotions, and accolades in North Texas, you’ll also find news from the cities of Dallas and Plano, the North Texas Commission, TPG, ParkHub, Vistra, CyrusOne, Van’s Kitchen, ROBOAMP, and more.
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