Improved efficiency in spotlight

With oil prices on a record flight path, the global aerospace industry will be focusing on improved efficiency and developments in alternative fuels at the International Berlin Air Show this week.

The gathering - known formally as the Aerospace Exhibition and Conferences - takes place today through Sunday at Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport, though it opens to the public only on Friday.

Flight shows and competitions, industry presentations and discussions make up the agenda. Industry observers will be hoping for clues about market trends and various projects by companies including airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG; German airport operator Fraport AG; and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co, the Franco-German parent of Airbus.

The biggest challenge at the moment is the cost of oil, which reached new highs of more than $135 a barrel in trading Thursday - before lowering.

Some analysts are forecasting a barrel reaching $150-$200 in the next year, leading the industry to look toward producing lighter, more efficient machinery, as well as alternative fuels. Airports are trying, meanwhile, to streamline operations and reduce bottlenecks and improve efficiency.

For example, Airbus and American industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc said recently they were developing a vegetation and algae-based biofuel that by 2030 could satisfy nearly a third of the worldwide commercial aircraft fuel demand without affecting food supplies. Airbus also said it had developed a new kitchen for its aircraft using more composite materials that could save a ton of weight in the A380 superjumbo.

David Kaminski Morrow, an editor with the trade magazine Air Transport Intelligence in London, said the effort to reduce weight was an ongoing trend among airlines.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/27/2008 page17)