SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Airlines says it’s flown another test flight of landing procedures at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that can save fuel, reduce noise and cut emissions by a third.
The procedures, already used in Alaska and at several Lower 48 airports, use satellite technology to guide a plane to a landing. That permits the aircraft to fly a shorter, more direct and slower approach.
Alaska Airlines is working with the Port of Seattle, Boeing and other airlines to get Federal Aviation Administration approval to use the techniques at Sea-Tac. If so, Alaska Airlines estimates that more than 2 million gallons of fuel could be saved each year. The project began last summer, and this week’s test involved a 737 jetliner making eight approaches to the airport.
