Virgin green initiatives criticised
10.03.08
Virgin Atlantic, the airline trying to position itself at the forefront of aviation's green movement, has been criticised by environmentalists for a lack of follow through on some of its initiatives, the Times newspaper reports.
The article focuses on Virgin's plan to tow Boeing 747 jumbo jets to special ‘starting grids’ at the end of runways, 'sold to airline passengers as a bold, green initiative that would save thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide from their flights.' However, the Times reports that Virgin has quietly abandoned the after the aircraft manufacturer found that pulling the landing gear would seriously weaken it.
Sir Richard Branson, the president of Virgin, has launched a series of green initiatives in the past two years in an attempt to claim the mantle of the most environmentally responsible airline. But analysis by the newspaper 'has found that most are having little, if any, impact on the airline’s emissions,' it reports.
Environmental groups have called the initiatives are ‘green-wash’, accusing Virgin of promoting them for PR value without making clear that it will be many years before they will begin to deliver any environmental benefits.
Jeff Gazzard, a board member of the Aviation Environment Federation, told the newspaper: ‘Virgin is using bogus green initiatives in an attempt to make passengers feel less guilty about flying and persuade regulators to allow the industry to carry on growing at its present unsustainable rate.’
With other Virgin initiatives, it was found that only 1 percent of business-class passengers took up the chance of a Heathrow Express train ticket instead of a chauffeur-driven car. And only 5 percent of biofuel had been used instead of normal aircraft kerosene in a flight described as creating ‘the first airline in the world to fly on renewable fuel’.
However, a Virgin spokesman said it was wrong to criticise the airline for seeking environmental solutions, claiming its rivals were doing relatively little. He said: ‘In a few years’ time there will be significant change.’
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