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carbon effects together with other factors such asprofit orcosts. Such IT-supported
models have for example been established inthe supply chain domain (see e.g. Oracle
2012). Another option istofirst “classically” calculate anetwork and then start to optimize
the changing parameters to pareto-improve the network in terms ofenvironmental
sustainability. For this, IT-based carbon calculators could beused. Clearly, the first
approach offers more degrees of freedom.
Atotally different option istostrategically switch to other modes oftransportation
using IT decision systems and omit and reduce air travel if not necessary. Obviously,
this option isnot be in line with aviation strategies. However, apart from diesel car with
1-passenger, aflight has the highest carbon dioxide (CO 2 )emissions per passenger- and
generally perton-kilometer(Chapman 2007: 356).
Mid-/short-termplanning and support systems
The mid- and short-term systems include all planning and support systems until shortly
before the flight. Elements like crews, aircraft and routes are planned indetail. Especially
threepossibilities ofenvironmental improvement through ITcan be highlighted.
First, (route) planning systems can be improved toinclude further environmental elements
atdifferent planning stages (IATA 2009: 12). For example, weather can be included
into IT-based calculations (UPS 2013) together with predictive ITsystems to
improve fuel efficiency (Chapman 2007: 362). Another option can be the coordinated
optimization offlight profiles inflight planning. However, this would involve the data
exchange between alargenumberofairlines.
Secondly, the aircraft selection can be environmentally optimized using expected payloads
and other details. For example, if fewer passengers are likely, asmaller and environmentally
more efficient aircraft could beused, even in the case that adifferent crew
setting ortime constraint leads toincreased costs. IT-decision-support systems can help
to facilitate theselection.
Thirdly, IT-calculated expected emissions ofaroute can be published insales. This
allows other companies to include these emissions into their models, especially for
freight transportation. Resulting demand changes would lead to emission savings. Similarly,
an IT-based calculation ofexpected emissions of aflight could influence consumer
buying behaviours. This isalready practiced by some websites (e.g. Lufthansa
2013). However, future systems could proactively suggest flights emitting fewer emis-