Pratt & Whitney’s patented EcoPower jet engine washing system is certified under the Verified Carbon Standard, the world’s most renowned voluntary CO2 offset agency. The certification program took Pratt & Whitney 2.5 years to complete due to the intensity of requirements under the Verified Carbon Standard. Pratt & Whitney now has the ability to certify the CO2 savings directly related to the fuel burn reduction, which is a result of regular EcoPower jet engine washing. The first ever aviation-related CO2 certified offsets were awarded in a ceremony on February 13 to Hawaiian Airlines.

This joint program brings together Alaska Airlines, Boeing, the Ports of Portland and Seattle, Spokane International Airport and the Washington State University in a unique and pioneering effort, the first such regional program in the US, to identify safe, sustainable, low-carbon resources to power the next generation of flight.

In 2011, DFW Airport used87 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from renewable wind energy resulting in a reduction of over 52,000 metric tons of GHGs. In addition to using renewable energy technology, DFW retrofitted its Central Utility Plant to reduce direct emissions of GHGs by over 50% in the past decade.

Since its launch, Southwest has always approached business differently from other airlines and its focus on efficiency made it an eco-pioneer long before environmentally-sound business practices were understood or recognized. Southwest’s newest product, Evolve, is an all-new eco-friendly, cost-efficient cabin interior that emphasizes comfort and personal space. Southwest launched the Green Plane to test the latest sustainable products onboard an aircraft and Evolve interior incorporates many elements of the Green Plane test.

An operating company of FedEx Corporation,FedEx’s approach to minimizing its impact on the environment is both comprehensive and innovative. The company’s EarthSmart program aims to find or create new ways not only to improve its own environmental performance, but also to point the way for other companies, in the aviation and logistics industries and beyond. Through myriad efforts from optimized flight planning routes to the introduction of new fuel efficient and lower emission aircraft to the building of solar-powered ground facilities and even the creation of a building with a vegetated roof, FedEx is committed to reducing its carbon footprint across every part of its operations. Its 20 by 20 program has the goal of reducing aircraft emission by 20% by 2020. To date, FedEx has achieved a 13.8% reduction.

Lufthansa’s breadth and depth of environmental efforts across the entire company made it stand out as this year’s Eco-Airline Gold winner. The airline’s dedication to fuel-efficiency, which is achieved through an ongoing investment in fleet modernization, including adding the Airbus A380 and new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental to the fleet, and the development of a more effective flight-route planning solution; humanitarian relief that provides aid to communities struck by natural disasters and supports protection of endangered species; and vital umbrella support from senior-level management via Lufthansa’s cross-departmental Sustainability Board, caught the editors’ attention. Also noteworthy was Lufthansa’s long-term research program conducted through the latter half of 2011 in which it assigned an Airbus A321 to fly routine, eight-times daily scheduled flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt using biofuel in one of its two engines. The burnFAIR project demonstrated that fuel burn was slightly less than with conventional jet fuel, but even more importantly established the principle of biofuel’s technological suitability for routine airline operations.

More formally, that would be D-ABYA, Lufthansa's initial 747-8 Intercontinental, the newest model of Boeing's long-serving 747 line; the German flag carrier was the launch customer for the passenger version. And in a nice acknowledgement of history, Lufthansa has chosen to re-use the same registration for this aircraft that was assigned to the carrier's first 747, a -100 model, delivered in 1970.

With depressing repeatability, the latest terrorist bomb plot – thankfully foiled by intelligence agents – was again focused on bringing down a commercial airliner. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was planning to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb device that was similar in concept to that worn in his underwear by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the attempted attack on Christmas Day 2009. But the AQAP device used a new design that would have made it very difficult to detect by magnetometer.