LE BOURGET (FRANCE) - THE European Commission and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced an initiative at the Paris Air Show aimed at reducing pollution by airlines on transatlantic flights.

The Aire project, short for the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions, will look at ways of reducing waiting times for landing aircraft and promoting jets with lower greenhouse gas and sound emissions.

Plane-makers Airbus and Boeing are keen to impress with their green credentials at this year's Paris Air Show, one of the biggest aerospace events in the world.

Airbus chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier and head of Boeing commercial planes Scott Carsen both stressed their commitment to reducing the fuel consumption of their aircraft.

They said that their latest planes, the Airbus A-380 and the Boeing 787, used less fuel than their predecessors, and it was possible for fuel consumption to be cut by another 15 per cent to 20 per cent for the next generation of aircraft.

The Aire initiative is part of broader efforts to coordinate the modernisation of air traffic control systems in Europe and the United States.

The FAA is promoting a future air traffic control system known as NextGen that is designed to reduce aircraft congestion in the air and at airports. A parallel European effort called Sesar is currently in its definition phase.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE