We are pleased to feature Southwest Airlines (“Southwest”) as our next Contrail Controller. Southwest is taking a multi-faceted approach to integrating sustainability into their operations.
As part of this approach, they are tackling contrails. In 2022, Southwest joined RMI’s Contrail Impact Task Force, working with Google, Breakthrough Energy, American Airlines, and others, to explore the formation and mitigation of persistent contrails.
We [Southwest] recognize that addressing the potential impact of contrails is an important step in our industry’s efforts on environmental sustainability. We were excited to host the task force’s first workshop at our headquarters in Dallas last month and look forward to learning more about contrail-cirrus and how each airline’s potential impact might vary based on its routes and schedule. Through this cross-functional collaboration, we hope to play a part in advancing the science in this area.
Helen Giles, Director of Environmental Sustainability at Southwest Airlines. 1
In August 2023, Ms. Giles gave a presentation with Dinesh Sanekommu, of Google Research, at the Global Business Travel Association Conference to educate on the climate impact of contrails, and available mitigation options. 2
Also in August 2023, the US Department of Energy (“DOE”) awarded $1.5 million to GE Research (“GE”) to develop a real-time, in-flight prediction system for aircraft-induced cirrus formed from contrails for commercial aircraft operators. GE Research is working on this project with Southwest. GE will develop a system to “…combine detailed engine operational data, a hybrid physics and machine learning model, on-airplane data, and real-time satellite observations to predict aviation-induced cirrus that last more than 5 hours.” 3 According to Ms. Giles, Southwest is sharing data with GE to facilitate development of this tool. 4 Well done, Southwest!
[1] RMI Task Force – https://rmi.org/press-release/airlines-unite-with-tech-sector-and-academia-to-tackle-climate-challenge-of-aviation-contrails/
[2] Helen Giles – https://www.linkedin.com/posts/helen-giles-621a0821_sustainability-aviation-gbta2023-activity-7096956548580585472-M6Wh
[3] Press Release – https://arpa-e.energy.gov/news-and-media/press-releases/us-department-energy-announces-projects-developing-technologies
[4] Podcast – https://green.simpliflying.com/p/helen-giles-southwest-airlines?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fcontrails&utm_medium=reader2