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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
The next morning, we all arrived to Southwest Airlines’ headquarters, which is right across from the runway of Love Field. As I entered Hangar 5, I had a huge smile on my face as there was a polished up 737-700. I never really thought of a 737 as being so large until I was standing next to it in a hangar.
THE GREEN PLANE
The 737-700 with tail number WN222 has been in service for four years but as we quickly learned from Southwest CEO Gary Kelly at the brief press conference, it’s been refurbished and renamed The Green Plane. That’s right -- Southwest is leading the aviation industry in environmental stewardship by going green. Well, at least with one test plane.
GREEN INITIATIVES
Southwest is working with a number of eco-friendly vendors on a variety of initiatives that all revolve around recycled products in the cabin and fuel-saving measures. From the outside, you can’t tell the difference except for the "green" logo near the nose. The inside doesn’t really look any different either except for the “green” stickers on the overhead compartments and the information cards in the seatbacks both outlining Southwest’s eco-friendly strategy.
GREEN CARPET
So, what’s Southwest doing? They have 100% recycled carpet by InterfaceFLOR Carpet that reduces labor and material costs because it is installed in sections, thus eliminating the need for total replacement of areas such as aisles, where Southwest currently uses one single piece of carpet. At the end of its service life, the carpet is returned to InterfaceFLOR and completely re-manufactured into new carpet; the process is completely carbon neutral.
NEW SEATS
They also have new synthetic leather seat covers that offer more than twice the durability and are lighter, saving almost two pounds per seat. That alone is projected to save $20,000 in fuel a year per plane.
LIFE VESTS
New, smaller life vest pouches offer a weight savings of one pound per passenger.
ECO ENGINE WASH
Southwest is using Pratt & Whitney's eco engine wash to keep engines working more efficiently, extend lifetime and save millions of dollars in fuel costs and reduce CO2 emissions.
NEW COFFEE CUPS
Southwest is replacing their Styrofoam coffee cups with ‘green’ cups with built-in sleeves so you don’t burn yourself.
NEXTGEN
One of the most important steps they are taking is outfitting their planes with satellite-based navigation to replace the outdated radar, which will reduce flight times, congestion and save millions of dollars in fuel costs and reduce CO2 emissions. Southwest has committed $175 million to this initiative and is pressuring the government to start rolling it out. This should be of interest to all travelers, not only for its impact on the environment but for an overall improved customer experience.
MORE INFO
Click here for more information on the Green Plane.
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Copyright 2009 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Pictures From
The Trip
Hangar 5
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Gary Kelly
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Green Logo
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New Eco Seats
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Rick Seaney
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Do The Right Thing
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Eco Carpet
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Overhead Compartments
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Eco Engine Wash
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Eco Coffee Cup
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Southwest Hangar
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