–DUBAI– Alitalia has signed an OnPointSM Fuel & Carbon Solutions agreement with GE Aviation. Using proprietary decision software and fuel-consulting expertise, GE’s Fuel & Carbon Solutions will work with Alitalia to identify and track operational improvements that could reduce the airline’s fuel spend by an average of three percent on given segments.
“Alitalia has a strong focus on the environment and operates very fuel-efficient engines, including the GE90, CF34, CF6 and CFM56* engines,” said John Gough, leader of GE Aviation’s OnPoint Fuel and Carbon Solutions. “GE’s Fuel & Carbon Solutions will help the airline further reduce the amount of fuel that it burns, which will help reduce its emissions and significantly cut operational costs.”
“The continuous search for fuel consumption efficiency is one of the key points of Alitalia’s strategy to offer high-value solutions for shareholders and customers, while at the same time reducing the environmental impact to air transportation,” said Alessandro Loddo, Fuel Manager at Alitalia. “The selection of GE’s OnPoint Fuel and Carbon Solutions reinforces the Alitalia focus on technology innovation and paves the way for a structural enhancement of the company’s operational efficiency.”
Part of GE’s ecomagination portfolio, Fuel & Carbon Solutions deliver results through a three-step process:
1. Operational evaluation: Identify and collect data on the airline’s current fuel and carbon reduction programs, and quantify where the customer is today.
2. Customized solution design: Further analyze data to isolate and prioritize potential improvements.
3. Implementation support and verification: Work with customers to implement changes, and then measure and validate savings.
Fuel typically accounts for about 30 percent of an airline’s expenses. With volatility in fuel prices during the last three years, airlines are looking for ways to manage this major portion of their cost base more effectively. Fuel & Carbon Solutions is one way for GE to work with its customers and develop effective fuel management solutions.
Alitalia is Italy’s biggest airline with flights to 79 destinations – 26 in Italy and 53 international. The airline operates 4,500 flights weekly with a fleet of 149 aircraft.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation. For more information on ecomagination, visit http://www.ecomagination.com.