The airline's aim is that of ultimately replacing all 3,200 of its LD3 units with these lighter versions. The first phase of its new composite container fleet will enable Virgin Atlantic to achieve further fuel efficiencies and reduce its CO² emissions by an additional 565 tonnes this year.
The airline has been trialling lightweight containers over several months and with this initial delivery, it has replaced 25% of its LD3 stock with composite containers that work out 16 kilogrammes per unit lighter. This will provide a dual benefit to the airline, that of improved fuel consumption along with a valuable contribution towards the carrier's target of reducing aircraft CO² emissions by 30% by 2020. The airline is sourcing its lightweight containers from Nordisk and Advanced Composite Structures.
Fleet improvement is one of the airline's main commitments to reducing emissions. The ten Airbus A333 aircraft that joined Virgin Atlantic's fleet in 2012 together with its new Boeing 787-9s, which commence deliveries in the autumn of 2014, are both more efficient per trip than the aircraft they replace. As well as the introduction of new fuel management systems, Virgin Atlantic continues to work behind the scenes to make sustainable fuels a commercial reality, which could lead to their adoption as soon as 2015.
