Southwest Airlines Markets Green to What End?

As more companies enter the green era, it's a good idea to pay attention to their messages.  Southwest Airlines just announced that it will present a "green plane" at its annual media day.  What does "green plane" mean to the air carrier? The company is incorporating environmentally friendly products and materials into a Boeing 737-700, which will result in reduced weight and waste. The new products will subtract roughly five pounds from each of its 149 seats, amounting to 745 pounds per flight. Making the plane lighter will save on fuel use and thus cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.  Huh?  Based on the plane's maximum takeoff weight of 154,500 pounds, this amounts to a .05 percent emissions reduction.

Southwest also will begin a "more robust onboard recycling" program on November 1 that will take their existing initiative to a higher level of responsibility, whatever that means. What was Southwest doing before this?

Too often, the idea of sustainability is making its way into marketing departments that are interested in claiming the "green" label, whether earned or not, in order to give the idea that they're part of the "in" crowd. This is not green washing per se, because some of these
sustainability principles are actually good steps and practices.  But in reality, how green is this?

Airlines are, and will continue to be, a vital industry in this country. However, in order to make a true environmental impact, the industry must also look towards developing much lighter planes with much more efficient engines. Until then, this is all window dressing. And will Southwest reduce all ticket prices by .05% now that it's using less fuel?

Jonathan A. Schein is the publisher of MetroGreenBusiness.com and GreenBusinessCareers.com.

 

Follow Jonathan A. Schein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaschein

Comments

[AirlineReporter]

Your commentary on Southwest Airlines going green is very negative. Some airlines are looking to cut weight and say they are going green. Where as you point out, they are really putting more green into their pockets. Sure it is a good marketing ploy and it cuts down on green house gases, but that is about it.

Southwest is taking it a step further. Not only are they cutting the weight from the seats, they are testing with carpets and using seat fabrics made of recycled materials. The airline has been recycling all along, but they are stepping up their program (fleet-wide Nov 1) to reduce recyclable materials from going into the trash.

Even a 0.5% reduction in fuel and greenhouse gases can be HUGE. The airline flies over 500 aircraft about 3,200 flights per day times all the fuel that takes and reduce it by 0.5% will make a big difference.

David Parker Brown
http://www.airlinereporter.com
.