SINGAPORE - The new Capital Express service between Singapore, Canberra and Wellington was unveiled on Thursday (Oct 13) as the newest addition to the Asia South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE) programme.

Established in 2008, the programme is a partnership between six air navigation agencies and 10 partner airlines, and it focuses on reducing the environmental impact of aviation through operational means across Asia and the Pacific.

Under the programme, all Singapore Airlines' SQ291 and SQ292 flights will be as made as environmentally friendly as possible by employing a range of ASPIRE practices such as making use of favourable winds and reducing taxi times.

SIA Acting Senior Vice-President of Flight Operations, Captain C.E. Quay, said the addition of the new Capital Express service to the ASPIRE programme was an "excellent example of SIA's commitment to protecting the environment".

He said: "We believe we have a long-term responsibility to help protect the environment, which is why we have programmes in place to ensure that sustainable practices are implemented across the company.

"We constantly ensure that our operations are carried out in a responsible manner through a framework designed to manage issues related to carbon emissions, waste, noise and the consumption of energy and resources."

Under the ASPIRE programme, the inaugural Capital Express flights on Sept 20 and 21 saved almost 7,000kg of fuel across the four sectors, which equates to an approximate saving of around 22,000kg of carbon emissions.

Over the course of a year, the ASPIRE programme is expected to help Capital Express flights save about 1.5 million kilograms of fuel and 4.6 million kilograms of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking 970 cars off the road.

Director-General of Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Mr Kevin Shum, said "CAAS has been an active participant of the ASPIRE programme since 2010.We are delighted that the programme continues to grow and make impactful progress."