Global Aviation has been struggling for decades to define a reasonable and responsible environmental standard. SimpleFlying’s Rytis Beresnevičius analyzes the FAA>EPA>ICAO final rule published on February 16,2024. His technical review is on point,
and merits a careful read. This promulgation is MORE TECHNICAL AND COMPLEX than any in recent memory. It also poses a significant challenge to any airframe and/or powerplant manufacturer intending to certificate under Part 25. Here is ONE metric among many calculations that the applicant must provide:
What is unresolved is the COMPLIANCE BY OTHER MEMBER STATES OF ICAO. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), both local air pollutants (LAPs) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector have been rapidly increasing. LAPs include carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter. The PRC is infamous in its ignoring ICAO standards which they choose not to comply.
Add to that, state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), C919 is a prominent symbol of Beijing’s broader “Made in China” strategy, which aims to reduce reliance on foreign manufacturers. Not surprisingly, its CO2 emissions are not publicly available. The primary market for this aircraft are likely the UN’s Least Developed Countries. COMAC probably will offer low prices to buy market share. Also, these nations have limited mandates as to CAEP. The impact of CO2 emissions is not strictly local; they move with the air beyond the country of origin.
It is right for the US to take this action to save the environment; however, ignoring that the CAEP goals will likely be ignored by a country with aggressive aircraft sales as a NATIONAL GOAL and a nation that CHOOSES WHICH OF THE ICAO STANDARDS IT WILL RESPECT.
New FAA Efficiency Rules Confirm End For Boeing 767F Production
PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO
With the new fuel efficiency rules going into effect on April 16, this would mark 2027 as the final year of the production of the 767F.
Photo: Thiago B Trevisan | Shutterstock
SUMMARY
- FAA’s new fuel efficiency rules could bring an end to Boeing 767F production by 2028.
- ICAO’s emission reduction program was the response to global efforts to combat aviation’s impact on climate change.
- Boeing and other stakeholders predicted a low demand for the Boeing 767F post-2028.
With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adopting its PROPOSED FUEL EFFICIENCY RULES for certain subsonic jet aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of more than 5,700 kilograms (12,566 pounds), this could spell the end for the production of the Boeing 767F freighter. The new standards will also apply to propeller-driven aircraft with an MTOW greater than 8,618 kg (18,999 lbs).
Working with ICAO
The FAA’s final rule was published on February 16, 2024, with an effective date of April 16. According to the directive, the new fuel efficiency standards would apply to aircraft that *RECEIVED THEIR ORIGINAL TYPE CERTIFICATION (TC) ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2021, were **MANUFACTURED AFTER JANUARY 1, 2028, or ***WERE CERTIFIED BEFORE 2021, BUT A MODIFICATION WAS MADE THAT WOULD AFFECT THE AIRCRAFT’S EMISSIONS AFTER JANUARY 1, 2023.
On June 15, 2022, the regulator published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), receiving 62 comments on the proposal from various parties, including Airbus, Boeing, ATR, Embraer, Gulfstream, General Electric (GE), as well as airlines’ representatives.
Providing background on the ruling, the FAA said that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its International AVIATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE (GIACC) developed a program to reduce aviation’s impact on the climate in 2009. The COMMITTEE ON AVIATION ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (CAEP), part of the ICAO, agreed to the new emissions standard in February 2016, with the ICAO adopting the standard in March 2017.
“In the United States, the CLEAN AIR ACT directs the EPA to adopt standards applicable to the emission of any air pollutant from any class of aircraft engines, WHICH IN THE EPA ADMINISTRATOR’S JUDGMENT CAUSES, OR CONTRIBUTES TO, AIR POLLUTION WHICH MAY REASONABLY BE ANTICIPATED TO ENDANGER PUBLIC HEALTH OR WELFARE.”
RELATED
ICAO Commits To Net-Zero Emissions By 2050
The historic agreement sees all 193 ICAO member states pledge their support toward a sustainable future for aviation.
Low demand for the 767F beyond 2028
As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule to amend domestic aircraft greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards in January 2021, with the FAA following suit in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
In a technical support document (TSD) issued by the EPA in December 2020, the agency concluded that the Boeing 767F would not meet the international standards proposed by the ICAO with or without continuous annual improvement.
Another aircraft that would be affected by the standards would have been the Airbus A380. However, the European plane maker delivered its final double-decker to Emirates after it had produced a total of 123 units in December 2021.
“We note that in their comments Boeing, along with FedEx, GE, and the Cargo Airline Association, expressed that there WOULD CONTINUE to be a LOW VOLUME DEMAND for the B767 freighter beyond January 1, 2028. These commenters did not indicate the number of 767F’s that would be produced after 2028.”
Affecting UPS and FedEx
However, no cargo carriers, apart from the US-based UPS and FedEx, have the 767F on order, according to the manufacturer’s Orders & Deliveries filings as of January 31. The two airlines’ unfilled orders tab indicated they have 21 and 16 Boeing 767Fs on order, respectively.
Photo: FedEx
According to ch-aviation data, 497 Boeing 767F aircraft are currently in service or in maintenance, with 39 different carriers operating the freighter, including various cargo conversions, such as the 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) program.
While Boeing has not announced a potential successor for the 767F, which could include new engines for the type, or a 787 freighter, Stan Deal, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), told media that the manufacturer could seek an exemption for the 767F during the Paris Air Show in 2023.
Rytis joins the Simple Flying team with more than two and a half years of experience reporting on the aviation industry. Prior to this, he worked at one of Europe’s biggest logistics companies and on innovative automotive.
2 Comments
PRC Lawfare With Commercial Air Routes https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/02/20/prc_lawfare_with_commercial_air_routes_1013012.html
Most notably, China has rerouted civil aviation flights to overfly Taiwanese territory to raise the odds of an incident it can use to pressure Taiwan. A simple response should be Taiwan’s inclusion in the International Civil Aviation Organization – alongside a broader recognition of Beijing’s objectives towards Taiwan…
The latest move in this campaign is Chinese violations of Taiwanese airspace with civilian aircraft. China notified Taiwan that it was unilaterally, and with only the flimsiest of justification, rerouting flights near Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen and Matsu Islands, just off the coast of the mainland.
The danger is twofold. First, by re-routing commercial flights around Taiwanese territory, the risk increases of some sort of aviation incident, a civil aviation shootdown or an intercept, that provides China a pretext for broader pressure against Taiwan. Indeed, while China is likely to go to war in pursuit of Taiwan’s conquest regardless of a formal pretext, the reality is, the CCP would greatly prefer some sort of pretext, much as Russia did during the preparation for the invasion of Ukraine.
FAA posted ~ 3pm 02/20/2024 https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-finalizes-rule-reduce-carbon-pollution-new-jets-and-turboprops