When our flights land, a team of professionals works in concert to conserve fuel, ensure aircraft are flight-ready and safely support on-time departures. We have implemented numerous programs within our operations on the ground to conserve jet fuel, reduce energy use and minimize emissions.

• Ground power
  During arrivals and departures, we promote taxiing aircraft with a single engine and the use of tractors, rather than jet fuel, to move planes between gates and maintenance facilities. To save additional fuel, we also connect aircraft to available ground power sources while planes are stationed at the gate.
  
  
• Alternative-fuel vehicles
  Continuing our fuel conservation efforts, we have made a significant investment in the use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in our fleet of ground support equipment (GSE). AFVs are vehicles that run on a fuel other than traditional gasoline or diesel, such as electricity, propane and natural gas. GSE refers to the equipment and vehicles used to service our aircraft, such as belt loaders, aircraft push-back tractors and baggage tractors.
  
  Since 1981, we have pioneered the use of electric GSE. Alternatively fueled and electric zero-emission vehicles now represent nearly 25 percent of our entire GSE fleet of vehicles.
  
  
• Cleaner fuel
  We are preparing to integrate renewable synthetic diesel fuel, provided by Los Angeles-based synthetic fuels and fertilizer company Rentech, into the fuel used to power our ground equipment at Los Angeles International Airport, beginning in 2012. We expect the fuel, derived primarily from yard clippings and other woody green waste, to have a low carbon footprint and minimal particulate and other emissions. This solution will provide cleaner fuel for diesel ground equipment that cannot be converted or replaced with electric-powered vehicles.
  Learn more
  
  
• EcoPower
  We are collaborating with key suppliers to help keep equipment running as cleanly and efficiently as possible. Working with major engine supplier Pratt & Whitney, we're using a patented “EcoPower” system to clean our jet engines. Clean engines will save 3 million gallons of jet fuel annually and will reduce CO2 emissions by 28,000 metric tons per year.
  
  
• Environmental management system
  We are committed to ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. We've established an environmental management system based on ISO 14001 across our network to support, monitor and coordinate all our activities to comply with local environmental ordinances and regulations enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other governing agencies. We've also assembled a dedicated environmental team whose lead coordinators provide training and support work group actions to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. The team also conducts formal compliance assessments, audits our environmental performance, recommends corrective actions and provides guidance.