When JAL's Eco Jet press release popped into my inbox this week my interest was piqued. Are our friends in Japan promoting a new green jetliner design - a la easyJet with its "ecojet" - giving a gentle shove to the airframers and engine manufacturers on coming up with the next generation of more environmentally friendly aircraft?
Sadly no. This is a PR exercise. A demonstration of JAL's green credentials and efforts.
And that's fine, if a touch shallow. What has happened is that JAL has "decorated a Boeing 777-200 aircraft with a 'green' design to help in raising people's awareness of the issue of climate change and global warming, and clearly re-state the company's unwavering commitment to reducing the impact its business activities have on the global environment".
Called the JAL Eco Jet, the aircraft will carry on its fuselage a 2-meter high by 7-meter wide green origami paper plane motif accompanied by the words 'Sky Eco' in both Japanese and English. The conventional JAL livery of the aircraft will be modified by changing the color of the 'arc of the sun' design on its tailfin from red to green.
Look out for JAL's Eco Jet from June on Japan routes serving Haneda airport, Tokyo, its main domestic hub.
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