The Port of Seattle recognized three airlines with its annual Fly Quiet Awards. The awards honor airlines for their efforts in noise reduction and abatement programs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for the year 2014.
As was the case last year, this year’s top recipients are Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, and Jazz Aviation (operating as Air Canada Express), who were recognized for their efforts to minimize the impacts of aircraft noise on local communities.
“We applaud our award-winning airline partners for being responsible community members and working to reduce the impacts of noise in and around the airport,” said Mark Reis, Managing Director of Sea-Tac Airport. “By implementing quieter aircraft, and adhering to flight paths that reduce the impacts of noise, these airlines continue to lead by example and should be applauded for their commitment to being good neighbors.”
Below are the list of award winners and details of their accomplishments.
Fly Quiet Bravo Award – Alaska Airlines
- Awarded to the quietest airline among the top five carriers at Sea-Tac.
- Alaska operates a modern fleet of the latest Boeing 737 models. This is Alaska’s 4th consecutive Fly Quiet Bravo award. As one of the busiest airline at Sea-Tac, Alaska does a remarkable job in adhering to Sea-Tac’s noise abatement and flight procedures.
Fly Quiet Award – Virgin America
- Awarded to the quietest airline with at least 1,000 annual jet operations at Sea-Tac.
- Virgin America operates a modern fleet of quiet Airbus A320 aircraft. This is 5th time Virgin has received a Fly Quiet Award.
- Virgin continues to be recognized due to their combination of quiet operations and strong adherence to flight procedures and abatement measures.
Fly Quiet Regional Airline Award – Jazz Aviation
- Awarded to the quietest regional airline with at least 360 annual jet operations at Sea-Tac.
- Jazz Aviation operates the quiet Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ). This is their 6th award overall, which is the most of any airline since the Fly Quiet Awards began in 2005.
- Jazz Aviation’s successful track record is due in part to operating a fleet of quiet and modern regional jets that adhere to strict noise abatement efforts and near flawless flight procedures.
Additional Information on Fly Quiet Awards: The Fly Quiet Awards were established in 2005. The awards were developed to recognize airlines working to reduce the impacts of jet noise in the community. Each airline is evaluated on compliance with noise abatement flight patterns, overall noise levels of airline operations, and compliance for testing engines on the ground.
The Fly Quiet Award criterion consists of three categories:
- Percentage of compliance with Sea-Tac’s Noise Abatement flight procedures/flight paths
- Overall noise levels of the airline’s operations (utilizing four of the Port’s 24 permanent noise monitors)
- Compliance with Sea-Tac’s engine maintenance/testing procedures and run-up restrictions
About Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Operated by the Port of Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA, KSEA) is ranked as the 13th busiest U.S. airport, serving nearly 37.5 million passengers and more than 327,000 metric tons of air cargo in 2014. With a regional economic impact of more than $16.3 billion in business revenue, Sea-Tac generates 171,796 jobs (109,924 direct jobs) representing over $2.8 billion in direct earnings and more than $565 million in state and local taxes. Twenty-two airlines serve 78 non-stop domestic and 22 international destinations.
