CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2009-10

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Dismantling aircraft engines
OPTIMIZING THE LIFE CYCLES OF AIRCRAFT
As planes are in service for several decades, it is important
to consider their entire life cycle and to maintain a permanent
dialogue with suppliers. Broadly speaking, regular discussions
with manufacturers of planes and engines allow Air France and
KLM to reduce the environmental impact of their equipment,
from the design stage of new aircraft to ensuring improvements
to equipment in service.
In 2009, Air France launched a dismantling end-of-life program
for its aircraft. As part of this, five A320-100s have now been
dismantled. Air France has complied with all commitments
FOCUS ON…
GIVING A SECOND LIFE TO ENGINE
PARTS
Air France Industries has launched Turbine Support
International (TSI), a subsidiary set up in a joint
venture with Aviation Repair Technologies Services.
TSI is located in Arkansas and specializes in the
dismantling (or ‘tear-down’) of CFM56-5 and CF6-50
and CF6-80 aircraft engines. The parts recovered
are inspected and certified for return to service, thus
guaranteeing the highest safety levels.
Air France-KLM’s environmental decisions are based on
impact studies called Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA 1 ). LCAs take
into account that a decrease in weight of inflight products
results in less fuel burned and so less CO 2 emissions. This
extra element shows that choices made on the ground, are not
always fitting those at 30,000 feet.
under the new industrial process: no run-off, separation of
waste streams, and appropriate channeling: destruction,
recycling and re-processing. In addition, 80% of the weight of
the dismantled aircraft has been recovered.
For KLM, dismantling of the Fokker 100 has enabled parts to
be re-used as spares. Also, environmentally friendly materials
are used for packaging aircraft parts. The rest of the aircraft
was shredded into small pieces, with the metal parts melted
and reused.
Metal scrap
FOCUS ON…
SCRAP MATERIAL RECLAMATION
PROGRAM
In early 2009, KLM Engineering & Maintenance, GE
Aviation (GE) and SOS Metals Inc., began a joint
Scrap program. This aims to recover used material,
thus reducing the need for new raw materials when
manufacturing aircraft engine components. This year
KLM managed to recover, melt down and re-use
100 metric tons of selected alloys used in aircraft
components, such as engines. This became a
Group program when Air France joined in 2010. The
SkyTeam alliance of international airlines, of which
the Group is a member, has also shown interest in
the scheme. This Group program aims, next to the
above mentioned environmental benefit, to convert
costs into revenues.
SUSTAINABLE INFLIGHT PRODUCT MANAGEMENT: WASH OR THROW AWAY?
The result of the LCA is irrefutable: CO 2 emissions are far
lower for transporting an item in lightweight plastic than for a
washable, re-usable one, which is heavier. This holds true even
if the plastic ends up being incinerated (due to the draconian
health regulations that state that any object that has come
into contact with animal-related non-EU food products must
be incinerated). Also, as plastic cutlery is lighter than stainless
steel and plastic (PET) wine bottles are lighter than glass,
Air France-KLM has therefore started to change these products.
1 An LCA is the investigation and evaluation of the environmental impacts of a given product or service caused by its entire existence from production to disposal.