These days everyone wants to go green and sometimes irrespective of their actual capability in that direction, they at the very least want to claim that they have gone green. Sure every small step goes a long way in making our planet better, but can we really brand something ‘clean and green’ just because a few things have been tweaked here and there? Southwest Airlines effort to go green, though commendable, seems to be just a minor step towards a much bigger change that needs to happen. Which is why, we are a bit skeptical about its latest plane being called a ‘Green Plane Prototype’!
The new and dashing set of wings unveiled by Southwest sport green interiors such as the InterfaceFlor carpet that designed to withstand wear, is 100% recyclable and requires bare minimum in terms of maintenance, eco-friendly material for their seats instead of traditional leather and a few other changes that will reduce the weight of the carrier itself. While the change of material and the effort to reduce weight and hence fuel consumption overall is indeed very noble, a ‘Green Prototype’ probably needs to be a lot more that just a ‘refurbished interior’.
While we might be asking for a giant leap rather than many tiny steps towards the goal, it is only because the aviation industry needs speeding considering the state of the planet today. Can those who fly in the sky please find similar pace when it comes to eco-friendly reforms as well!
