Heritage Aviation Creates Greener Private Flying

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed)
Jun 2nd 2010 at 2:01PM

Just how green can personal jet travel be? Well, not very. There's no doubt that traveling by private jet wreaks havoc on our carbon footprint. One company in Burlington, Vermont, has set out to create the most green private aviation company ever. Heritage Flight has for 25 years broken down travel barriers. Offering aircraft charters from Turbo-Props to Bombardier Challengers, they fly you around the world, anywhere, anytime. No lines, no hassle. International returns allow you to pass through customs hassle-free. Pilots will even change routes mid-flights if you change your mind between say the French Rivera and the Italian Seaside. Today, private aviation in Vermont is a $2 billion industry.

Gallery: Heritage Aviation

Now, their sister company, Heritage Aviation, is combining the ultimate in an eco-friendly aircraft rest stop with 24/7 convenient travel with their brand new 79,000 square-foot Fixed Base Operation at the Burlington International Airport. The center offers a wealth of services to transient pilots, passengers, and aircraft owners. The building, made from stone and textiles from sustainable sources presents a gym, game room, media room, business center, and snooze rooms for pilots passing through.

And best of all, it's one of the country's first L.E.E.D. Certified hangars, running off of on-site renewable-energy. "We are tremendously proud of our new FBO, from the hangar that needs little to no electrical lighting during daytime shifts, to the LEKTRO tugs that provide exceptionally safe aircraft handling while still minimizing our carbon footprint," said Heritage Aviation President, Chris Hill.

While being one of North East's largest and luxurious FBO, the site is partially powered by solar and wind energy. In fact, it has established one of the first community scale wind turbines at an aviation facility. And 98% of rain water is collected on one of the largest green roofs in the area, which is reused to clean aircraft. While private jetting sure has a long way to go before being considered ecologically friendly, you can start by making sure that you fill every seat on your plane on any trip, and by researching earth-friendly plane facilities such as Burlington's FBO. Heritage Aviation is leading the industry path towards green in a world of blue skies.

Heritage Aviation hosted my trip to Burlington. The views in this article are 100% my own.

Tags: burlington vermont, fbo, fixed base operation, heritage aviation, vermont