NAV CANADA participates in green demonstration flight

United Airlines Chicago to Frankfurt trip will produce less emissions on UN World Environment Day

OTTAWA, June 4 /CNW Telbec/ - NAV CANADA is pleased to be collaborating with United Airlines (UAL) on two special flights to demonstrate new greener air navigation procedures in the high altitudes of Canadian airspace and over the North Atlantic.

Flight UAL 945, Frankfurt to Chicago will depart at 2:25 a.m., EDT on June 5, this year's United Nations World Environment Day. Flight 944 departs Chicago for Frankfurt at 3:23 p.m., EDT. The aircraft to be flown for both trips will be a Boeing 777.

NAV CANADA Air Traffic Controllers at the Area Control Centres (ACC) in Toronto, Montreal, Moncton and Gander will facilitate more flexible routing by protecting a range of altitudes. This "altitude block" allows for greater variations in speed and provides quicker altitude changes.

This will give pilots and controllers increased opportunities to use more efficient routes thus saving fuel and greenhouse gas emissions as the plane enters Canadian airspace and transits the portion of the North Atlantic controlled by the Gander ACC.

"We are pleased to participate with United Airlines in these World Environment Day demonstration flights," said Rudy Kellar, NAV CANADA Vice President, Operations. "This is just one example among many of the savings in fuel and GHG emissions being generated by the close collaboration of air carriers and air navigation service providers."

Assuming operational conditions are met, it is anticipated that these flights will save close to two metric tons of GHG emissions and 900 litres of fuel while in Canadian domestic airspace and over the oceanic portion controlled by NAV CANADA.

NAV CANADA oceanic air traffic controllers in Gander are responsible for the airspace over the Western half of the North Atlantic. They work in close cooperation with their counterparts at U.K. NATS at the Shanwick Oceanic Centre in Prestwick, Scotland, who control the Eastern half.

In addition to the flexible routing at high altitudes, United's demonstration flights will make use of other green procedures from gate-to-gate. United estimates a total savings of 6,400 pounds of fuel (3,600 litres) and a reduction in GHG emissions of nearly nine metric tons (United Airlines' News Release).

The real-time progress of United 944 and 945 is being tracked and can be viewed on the NAV CANADA website (click here), using Sabre Flight Explorer technology.

Other GHG and fuel savings initiatives are outlined in the Collaborative Initiatives for Emissions Reductions (CIFER) Progress Report. NAV CANADA estimates total annual savings from existing initiatives of over 900,000 metric tons of GHG emissions. Projected savings of 8.4 million metric tons GHG emissions were forecast for the period of 2009 to 2016 (See Backgrounder).

NAV CANADA, the country's civil air navigation services provider, is a private sector, non-share capital corporation financed through publicly-traded debt. With operations from coast to coast to coast, NAV CANADA provides air traffic control, flight information, weather briefings, aeronautical information services, airport advisory services and electronic aids to navigation.

For further information: John Morris, Director, Communications, [phone]; Ron Singer, Manager, Media Relations, [phone], Media Information Line: 1-888-562-8226