Air Canada to Save 160 Tonnes of Carbon on Earth Day through Innovative Biojet Fuel Project at Toronto Pearson Airport

Airline serves as lead partner to introduce biojet into airport shared fuel system

MONTREAL, April 19, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada will save 160 tonnes of carbon on 22 domestic flights this Earth Day through an innovative biofuel demonstration project at Toronto-Pearson Airport. Under the project, coordinated by Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative (CBSCI), Air Canada is a leading partner, introducing 230,000 litres of sustainable biofuel blended into the airport's multi-user fuel supply system to show the feasibility of biofuel use in shared fueling systems Canadian airports.

"Air Canada is proud of its leading role in this biofuel project, the first of its kind in Canada, which will advance the use of low-carbon renewable fuels in Canada by demonstrating they can be used in shared fuel systems at airports. Our participation is one way Air Canada is reducing its footprint and also helping our entire industry improve its environmental performance," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.

"Since 1990, Air Canada has improved its fuel efficiency by 43 per cent. We have also committed to meet ambitious targets set by the International Air Transport Association, including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. These efforts and our other green initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce waste were recognized when Air Transport World recently named Air Canada the Eco-Airline of the Year for 2018."

A recognition event with stakeholders of the biojet demonstration, including Air Canada, is being held at Toronto Pearson at 10 a.m. today. In addition to its participation in the Toronto Pearson Airport biojet project, Air Canada is also marking Earth Day by sponsoring through the Air Canada Foundation Earth Day Canada's crowdfunding Campaign Pledge4PLAY, whose goal for 2018 is to support outdoor play for 20,000 children. As well, there will be employee participation, including a tree planting event May 12 to plant 400 trees and shrubs at a conservation area near the airport, organized by Partners in Project Green.

For more information about Air Canada's environmental programs and activities, please consult Citizens of the World and Air Canada's leaveless environmental site, both available at www.aircanada.com.

About the Toronto Pearson biojet project

Although biojet has been consumed in Canada in the past, all previous projects have required dedicated tanker trucks directly fueling aircraft.  This project at Toronto Pearson is the first to blend biojet into the existing multi-user, co-mingled airport fuel supply system, thereby highlighting its feasibility and improving process efficiency. Carbon savings from the biofuel blended into the Toronto Pearson system will be accredited to Air Canada domestic flights from Toronto on Earth Day, effectively making those flights less carbon intensive. These unique fuel operations are part of CBSCI, a three-year collaborative project between 14 stakeholder organizations working to enable a biojet supply chain in Canada. Primary funding for the project, apart from the fuel purchase by Air Canada, comes from the Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN), a non-profit organization funded by the Canadian aerospace industry and Canada's federal Network of Centres of Excellence.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2017 served close to 48 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 60 in the United States and 98 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,300 airports in 191 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2017 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada