An electric taxiing system stars at Paris Air Show

Amid the fighter jets' screaming overhead and the gleaming new airliners, an old Airbus A320 was getting a lot of attention during last week’s Paris Air Show, reports BBC News. The aircraft didn't fly, and it didn't fire up its engines. But it did move very slowly. And this was what was drawing the crowds. Sometimes a product comes along that makes you ask, why wasn't this on the market years ago? Two years after going into partnership, Honeywell and Safran, two of the biggest names in aviation technology, have brought their Electric Green Taxiing System (EGTS) to the air show. It is a complicated piece of advanced engineering that can be summed up simply. A control unit is fitted to the wheels, which draws its power from the aircraft's electrical system rather than the main engines. So, when the aircraft is taxiing at the airport it is not wasting expensive fuel. It is a little like a hybrid car using two power sources to increase efficiency. Green technology system Motors attached to the landing gear are powered by the plane's electrical system The result? Lower emissions and operating costs, extended engine life and reduced noise. At least, that is what Brian Wenig, vice president of the EGTS programme at Honeywell Aerospace, says. He estimates that the fuel saving on an A320-type aircraft would be 3% to 4%. "It will dramatically reduce fuel consumption and lower operational costs," he says. "And the system would therefore reduce, if not remove altogether, the need for aircraft ground equipment to manoeuvre in and out of stands." Honeywell and Safran believe that the system could save airlines the equivalent of around R2 million a year per aircraft in fuel costs. Airline engines are made for flying, not idling at the departure gate waiting for a take-off slot. For a medium range aircraft, which is used several times a day, the problem is magnified. That's because they will burn a disproportionate amount of fuel than a jumbo jet that is in the air for longer on fewer flights. "A single-aisle aircraft operates, on average, 2.3 hours on the ground over eight to 10 daily rotations, resulting in considerable fuel burn before the aircraft has even left the ground," Wenig says. Air France is one of the airlines about to investigate whether all of these claims stack up. And for an airline such as Air France, with a fleet of 120 short and medium-range aircraft, the savings would be huge. There are about 10 000 single-aisle aircraft in service, with Honeywell-Safran claiming that its potential market for EGTS is for about 80% of these. Wenig says the system is on track to be ready for use in 2016, with a retrofit option for existing aircraft coming to the market soon after.