In December 2020, we announced our commitment to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 100 percent by 2050 without relying on voluntary carbon offsets. Since then, several teams have worked continuously to ensure we’re on the right path.
In 2007, we formed the Fuel Council, and we reenergized the team in 2024 to bring internal and external stakeholders together to examine areas of opportunity to reduce fuel usage. This work is key to long-term success, and it helps us reduce our environmental impact while also reducing our operating costs. “Fuel efficiency is something that United needs to focus on every day,” says Flight Operations Policy and Performance Director Rob Galbraith, who is leading the efforts of the Fuel Council.
Right now, the group is working on four key areas:
Reducing Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) run times, because of the inefficient way they produce electrical power and conditioned air. They’re also loud, and add to airport noise levels.
Reducing extra planned fuel by using more precision when flight planning with the Dispatch and Flight Ops teams.
Reducing the weight of our aircraft, with an emphasis on finding and adopting lighter options for what we carry on board while maintaining our high standards for safety and customer satisfaction through a multidisciplinary approach and collaborative decision-making.
Operating our aircraft more efficiently. “We need to build thinking with sustainability at the forefront into our culture as a company,” Galbraith says, “since this will further our leadership within the airline industry and for our customers as an environmental leader.”
In 2022, we burned a total of 3.6 billion gallons of fuel, 40 million gallons of which were burned via APU. Our mainline APU burn emissions for 2022 were 380,000 metric tons, which is the same as the annual emissions of 82,000 vehicles. As part of our commitment to reduce our carbon intensity, the team is vigilant on finding ways to reduce our APU burn emissions.
“It takes all our teams working together and coordinating activities to minimize the time the APU needs to run,” says Airport Ops Consistency Director Kevin Summerlin.
“I am incredibly proud of all the work our teams have been doing to build a more sustainable future,” says SVP and Chief Air Operations Officer Ankit Gupta. “While we have a lot of work ahead of us, together we have already accomplished so much and are making notable impacts for United and the industry.”
