Air New Zealand announced (04-Oct-2017) it will use airport supplied power rather than onboard Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) generated electricity to power its aircraft while on airport gates. Aircraft are accessing electrical power at gates at both Auckland International Airport and Christchurch International Airport. The airline has been working closely with both Auckland and Christchurch airports to ensure ground infrastructure is compatible with aircraft systems and processes are aligned. All widebody jet aircraft are now using ground power when on gates in Auckland while domestic jets are currently plugging into electricity in Christchurch. The airline is also currently in talks with Wellington Airport to adopt similar processes. In the first month of trialling this new process in Auckland with the carrier's Boeing 777 and 787-9 long haul fleets, fuel use was reduced by 188,000 litres and CO2 emissions were cut by 475,000kg. According to Air New Zealand, this is more than the volume of fuel required to fly a Boeing 777-300 from Auckland to Los Angeles. [more - original PR]
Air New Zealand making the switch from APUs to airport power to improve fuel efficiency
3 October, 2017