All Nippon Airways (ANA) will begin operations on its ‘Green Jet’ aircraft, starting with the Tokyo Haneda-San Francisco route on October 5.
Business Traveller previously reported on the plans for two sustainable-themed B787 aircraft in June. The two aircraft feature an ‘ANA Future Promise’ livery, named after its environmental, social responsibility and governance (ESG) programme, with the SAF Flight Initiative logo and water motif on the right side of the fuselage.
Aircraft number JA871A will enter service on international routes tomorrow, with a second aircraft to serve domestic routes from November.
The surface of the aircraft features a special ‘shark fin effect’ riblet film material, developed by Nikon Corporation, which is designed to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions through the decrease of air friction resistance during the flight.
Inside, the seats will feature headrest covers made using two vegan leather materials. The first is by start-up Appcycle which has developed synthetic leather from the residue of juice from apples grown in Aomori Prefecture, and the second is Toray Industries’ ‘Ultrasuede’ grainy artificial leather.
There will also be green lighting and background music that “evokes the richness of nature”, and flight attendants will wear aprons designed with leaves and water motifs.
ANA President and CEO, Shinichi Inoue, commented:
“Our goal is to create a more sustainable society, while helping our local communities and enhancing corporate value and we have dedicated this aircraft to help promote these efforts.
“Utilizing the technological advances currently available and investing in new solutions, ANA is working hard to create a safe, efficient and sustainable operation.”
ANA also has sustainable initiatives on its regular routes and aircraft, such as environmentally friendly paper cups, wooden cutlery and new inflight meals.
The ANA Group has launched several sustainable initiatives in recent months, including a resource recycling scheme with Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation whereby plastic film (polyethylene) covering air cargo is repurposed into new plastic products used by the airline.
Additionally the airline expanded its sustainable aviation fuel option to corporate travel at the start of the year.
