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the newsletter of tbd consultants - 3rd qtr 2011
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Printable PDF version
Market Soaring … or Stalling | ||||||||
Construction
Management Specialists | ||||||||
For this newsletter we are focusing on the aviation industry, and in this article we draw some comparisons between the way the aviation market and the general market is moving, as we try to learn to fly again and rise out of the Great Recession. |
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A study in New Scientist magazine in December 2009 reported on how the cost of climate change policies would affect consumers in the UK. Apart from electricity and other fuel costs, cost impacts ranged from 0% to 2%, with one major exception. That exception was the aviation industry, where a 140% increase in the cost of air travel was predicted over the four decade period the study used. That is because there is currently no real low-carbon alternative fuel available, so airlines are expected to have a high ‘carbon tax’ to pay. But alternative fuels are being studied, and the following are some options:
The Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) is a coalition working to promote the development of alternative aviation fuels, but their timeline is realistically measured in decades. In the short run, reducing the amount of fuel that aircraft waste is likely to contribute more for the climate’s benefit. Air traffic controllers have not been asleep when it comes to making aircrafts’ flights more fuel-efficient. Traditionally the aim was to get aircraft leaving on time, then if traffic built up at the destination airport the aircraft would get stacked, flying in circles until a landing slot was available, but wasting a lot of fuel in the process. A new procedure is being introduced whereby the scheduling of flight landings reaches back to the departing airport, and aircraft are held on the ground until it is likely that the aircraft will be able to land directly on arrival. Of course that plan might be frustrated by changing weather conditions, and the implementation of such a system requires air traffic control equipment that can handle the planning and processing. You have probably sat in an aircraft as it waited in a queue for its turn to reach the runway and take off. This is another time that aircraft are wasting fuel, and better planning of aircraft departures from the gate is another procedure, along with things like single-engine taxiing and limiting the use of reverse-thrust on landing, that can reduce the carbon-footprint at airports. Aircraft design is also evolving to improve efficiency and reduce fuel use including the use of propfan technology (giving more thrust for the same fuel usage), composite structures (reducing weight – think Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but forget the delays), new airfoil concepts (improving efficiency), boundary layer control (increasing performance and control), and active controls (increasing performance). There are also more revolutionary ideas to improve efficiency, such as the use of flying wing aircraft, but we will wait and see if these long-discussed concepts finally get implemented. The use of alternative fuels for ground vehicles, such as maintenance vehicles, shuttle buses, etc., has already been mentioned. Plus, just about every aspect of green building technology can be applied to airport structures, just as they do to other building types. |
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In this article we look at some of the forces driving changes in airport design in general and terminal design in particular. |
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Design consultant: Katie Levine of Vallance, Inc. |