REMARKS FOR
ALLAN MCARTOR, CHAIRMAN, AIRBUS AMERICAS INC.
AERO CLUB
“THE WILD
GREEN YONDER”
As written.
Not necessarily as delivered.
Thank
you all very, very much. I really appreciate that.
And
I want to thank everyone for coming out to the Aero Club this afternoon.
Listen, I know how tough it is to break away from the office in the middle of
the day like this. But I’ve always felt that breaking bread together builds
strong bonds. It’s with these bonds that true collaboration begins. And I’m going to explain why I feel that way in just a
second.
First,
though. I turned on the TV this morning.
And there were two major headlines on all the news channels. One of them, of
course, is the big primary in
And
the other bit of news is that today …
You
see, 38 years ago, Earth Day started out as a celebration … where people from
all political parties … just got together to reaffirm their commitment to
preserving our natural environment. Imagine that … 38 years ago. That’s just about the time that Airbus first
came into being. We’ve been around that long.
This Earth Day, however, may be the most
important one of all for aviation.
That’s because there’s such a great debate going on now that threatens
to break apart our industry.
It
has to do with a teaser for a TV program I saw.
It
showed a jetliner -- not an Airbus -- it showed a jetliner taking off … and in
its wake was a long trail of black smoke belching out from the engines. And a
network guy says in this deep, booming voice:
“Coming up next … an Earth Day exclusive report … Mother Nature’s Most
Wanted Criminals.”
Can
you believe that? I won’t bother sharing with you the words that came out of my
mouth when I heard that. This is a
family-friendly place, after all.
What
you didn’t hear in that TV spot was
that aviation supports more than 29 million jobs. And it’s the only thing I know that literally links
world economies in a matter of hours. Try that
with another form of transportation.
When
it comes to the environment, aviation is not
the enemy. But there’s a perception out
there that we are. And you and I and everyone else need to band together to
counter this perception that we’re the bad guys … that we don’t know what we’re
doing. In some places, they’re even calling flying for fun a sin!
Because
if we just sit there and do nothing, then we run the risk of having someone tell us what to do. And I don’t have to
tell you how undesirable that would be.
Now
whether you followed the numerous legislative proposals in Congress … or saw
those protesters climb aboard a tailfin at Heathrow … you know that the debate
over climate change is certainly “heating up” quote unquote.
This
has been no less true for aviation.
Aviation
greenhouse gas emissions dominated the discussions last fall at the ICAO
Assembly in
So,
I want to take a few minutes to offer some thoughts on how I believe we need to
tackle this challenge … and why sticking together is so important.
And
the reason I preach collaboration is because of a story I once heard. You see,
there were two friends who are out hiking in the woods. Suddenly, they saw something coming toward
them over the hill.
It
was a huge grizzly bear. And one of the guys quickly reached into his back pack
and pulled out a pair of sneakers.
And
the other guy says, “You don’t really
think you can outrun that bear, do you?”
And he says “Oh I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you.”
Now
that’s worth a chuckle or two. But in
the same vein, we as an industry can’t afford to splinter when it comes to the
environment. We need to stay together.
That’s
especially true over in
So,
step one of our mission is to educate.
The
fact is, worldwide, aviation represents only 2-3 percent of total greenhouse
emissions.
Here
at home … Greenhouse gas emissions generated by the
At
the same time, we had a 12 percent jump in passengers … and a 22 percent
increase in freight.
Here’s
another inconvenient truth. In the last
40 years, aircraft fuel efficiency has improved 70 percent. Those of you taking notes, write that down,
because it’s only going to get better.
And that’s because there is no
better motivator for efficiency than the price of fuel.
That
goes for both manufacturers and
operators. And with fuel now going for
more than $100 a barrel … and representing 25 to 30 percent of
Of
course, it’s not just about engines. It’s about air traffic management … ground
congestion … idling fuel trucks. They all have a role to play.
But,
like those guys running from the bear, we have to band together … and trump
perception with honest-to-goodness performance.
That’s step two. That’s where
Airbus’s leadership comes in. We get what the environment is all about.
Consider
this. We’re the only aerospace
company in the world whose eco-program is backed by ISO14001. It’s the
international community’s seal of approval for the environment.
How’d
we do it? Maybe it was our pioneering
use of a greener, chemical-free milling process for fuselage panels.
Maybe it was our
environmentally friendly painting procedures.
Or, perhaps it was the stringent energy and water consumption limits we
impose during the production cycle.
From the time our planes
start out as a design on a drawing board to the end of their lives when they’re
shredded apart for recycling, our planet is first and foremost in our minds.
This isn’t just for our
executives. It’s for all of our employees. They must
be part of the challenge. The environment isn’t the business for some
specialist in our company. It’s everyone’s business.
It’s that mindset that
helped us produce the A380 … the environmental benchmark in air travel. Now
there are a lot of superlatives you can use for that aircraft. Biggest …
boldest. Now add another one – the
first. As in, the 380 is the world’s first
commercial aircraft to successfully complete a test flight using an alternative
fuel.
It happened earlier this
year. It went from the
The 380 was chosen for
its design. It’s got four engines with separate fuel tanks. That makes it ideal for engine shut-down and
re-light tests.
So during the flight,
engine number one was fed with a blend of G-T-L and jet fuel. The three others
were fed with just jet fuel. And the
result was nothing short of remarkable. History was made right there that very
day.
And you know, it just
goes to prove -- our alternative fuels roadmap requires this very kind of
innovation and diversity of ideas. It’s
part and parcel of Airbus’s commitment to providing leadership as an eco-efficient
enterprise.
This groundbreaking test
flight was the first step in a long-term plan to study alternative fuels. I stress long
… because it takes many years of trial and error to get it just right. And we
are.
Even still, no one
company has all the green answers. It’s got to be a collaborative effort. And
that goes back to the point I was making earlier.
Now to prove that Airbus
isn’t just talking the talk, I’ve got a noteworthy announcement I’d like to
share.
Airbus and Boeing have
put away the swords and forged an unprecedented agreement on the environment.
The announcement was made today at the Air Transport Action Group environmental
summit in
It may seem a bit strange
seeing two rivals burying the hatchet and coming together like this. Competition among industry titans is a good thing, don’t get me wrong. But when
it comes to the environment, there is
no competition.
I mean, what would be the
point of “beating Boeing” or “beating Airbus” on the environmental scoreboard
if we as an industry are still perceived as massive polluters?
Let me tell you, our
companies are committed to setting the record straight about where aviation
stands. And at the risk of repeating
myself, I’ll tell you yet again where that is -- Aviation is not the enemy.
With
each passing day, flying is becoming more environmental friendly than it was
the day before. And Airbus is leading the way.
Here’s
one more example how. In February, we
successfully tested a fuel cell system in-flight on an A320.
What
this means is … that for the first time on a civil aircraft, fuel cells powered
the back-up hydraulic and electric power systems. It doesn’t get anymore exciting than this.
As
you know, fuel cells offer up a tremendous amount of environmental benefits.
First of all, they’re emission-free. On top of that, their only by-product is
water, which could be put right back into the plane’s water and waste systems.
That,
in turn, makes the aircraft lighter and more fuel efficient. The big picture here is that we have a
starting point. This will allow Airbus and our partners to further develop ways
to use fuel cells to replace other aircraft systems, like emergency power. A major benefit of all this is that it’ll
significantly reduce noise and emission levels in and around airports.
In
the years to come, expect to see Airbus continue
to push the envelope.
When
you’re the world’s largest airframe maker, you have certain rights,
responsibilities and obligations. And we’re living up to them.
As
you can see, Airbus doesn’t have time
to jump on the environmental bandwagon. We’re too busy driving it.
As
the Aero Club knows better than anyone else, aviation has succeeded in its
first century because it has constantly met the challenge of innovation and
record setting -- flying faster, higher, and safer.
Any
fair reading of history will show that aviation has done an exceptional job
when it comes to the environment too.
But to be blunt, the issue here isn’t past performance, but what records
we’re going to set going forward.
On that score, one thing you’ll never hear me say is “Gee, I wish Airbus had done more on the environment.” It’s my intention to leave a legacy where everything was left on the field. Sure, a green aviation is good for business. But beyond all that, a green aviation helps a planet stay green. There’s no equivocating on that.
As inhabitants of this majestic blue and green marble, we all must stand up for the environment.
That was the message of the first Earth Day … the second … the third … and now the 38th.
Thank
you. And now I’d be happy to take your
questions.
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