Cleaner aircraft unveiled by easyJet

Low-cost carrier easyJet has unveiled plans for its new environmentally-friendly ecoJet, which it claims will help cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2015.

The budget airline, which has hubs at Bristol Airport, Liverpool Airport and Stansted Airport, says it is the first airline to outline the requirement that short-haul aircraft should meet to be "super-clean".

In order to meet its targets the ecoJet will need to be 25 per cent quieter and emit 50 per cent less CO2 than today's newest planes.

The latest research by airframe and engine manufacturers will be incorporated into its design, with the carbon reduction coming from the engines (25 per cent), the lightweight frame (15 per cent) and design improvements (ten per cent).

Andy Harrison, easyJet chief executive, suggested that the aviation industry had an "excellent record" in reducing the environmental footprint of aircraft.

"Today's aircraft are typically 70 per cent cleaner and 75 per cent quieter than their 1960s counterparts," he revealed.

"Now we are planning the next generation that will help towards taking the plane out of the emissions equation. EasyJet is already setting the environmental standard in the airline industry."