Airbus and Boeing Will Work Together on Environmental Issues

The goal of the initiative is to help those in aviation and government to determine the most direct path to a modern system to increase efficiency and eliminate traffic congestion. As the producers explain, their work is one of three parts aimed at improving the environmental performance of aviation. The other two efforts are competition—which is critical for environmental and technological advances that result in new aircraft programs such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787—and support for industry alignment on environmental positions where appropriate.

"Airbus and Boeing are great competitors,” notes Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.  “This has been a critical element that has sharpened our focus and efforts toward making aviation more efficient. While our approaches often differ, we are working towards the same goal—to reduce aviation's environmental impact."

Airbus and Boeing concur that improvements to the global air transportation system to provide more efficient routing, better arrival management and speed control will reduce inefficient delays and time in the air, which will save fuel and reduce emissions. Such air traffic management improvements, they feel, represent the greatest short-term opportunities to reduce CO2emissions.

Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO, says, "I am convinced technology and innovation hold the key to reducing aviation's environmental impact and increasing eco-efficiency. And competition is a great motivator for this. Where Boeing and Airbus share a common position on the environment and safety, it is in all our interests that we cooperate to achieve our common goals more quickly."