Today and every tomorrow is our moment to rise, as we believe building a strong business today is good for our people, communities and the planet tomorrow.
In 2021, we demonstrated our commitment to do good in the world by responding to emerging needs with collective resourcefulness. Our foundational values – Safety, Service Excellence, Integrity, Innovation, Teamwork and Responsibility – guided our response to many challenges. We strived to provide excellent service every day and be our customers’ first choice and most valued partner while delivering shared value for our shareholders, employees and communities.
We also accelerated progress on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) journey. We are supporting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airlines for America (A4A) goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In early 2022, we formalized our carbon emissions reduction goal: to reduce our Scope 1 emissions by 20% by 2035.
Our 2021 purchase of four new Boeing 747-8 freighters provides 20% higher payload capacity and 16% lower fuel consumption. In late 2021, we ordered four new Boeing 777-200LRFs, which are the largest and longest-range twin-engine freighters in the world and will further help us improve our flight operations efficiency. By upgrading our fleet with more fuel-efficient aircraft, combined with all our fuel efficiency and maintenance programs, we can continuously improve efficiencies, safety and performance.
We are also pursuing opportunities to increase the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in our flight operations. We actively advocate for state and federal tax-credits and investments in research and infrastructure funding to increase SAF production in the United States. In addition, we continue to expand our fuel-saving initiatives, including implementing best practice protocols that reduce fuel burn, and converting our station equipment to electric and hybrid vehicles in order to reduce emissions year over year.
Our people are our top priority, and their talent, dedication and world-class skills – in the cockpit, on the ground and in the office – drive our success. We have strengthened our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion because we believe it provides a great source of innovation and engagement. In addition, we are focused on growing our diverse talent pipeline through internal initiatives and external partnerships and workforce development programs.
We constantly strive to establish Atlas as a career destination and strengthen our Company to attract and retain the best talent in the industry. This includes enhancements to our employee compensation, health and wellness benefits and quality of work life programs and establishing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with our pilots.
In a year marked by global humanitarian and environmental challenges and crises, our people met the moment to make a difference around the world. We proudly supported the U.S. military’s Afghanistan evacuation efforts with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) by operating relocation flights for the repatriation of U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals and their families. In partnership with Operation Airlift India, we helped transport medical supplies and personal protective equipment for COVID-19 response. We also provided a disaster relief corporate donation and matched our employees’ generous pledges to help people in Kentucky impacted by devastating tornadoes.
Over the past year, our resilience, ingenuity and respect for one another stood strong, and we look optimistically to the future, where we will continue to innovate, inspire and lead. I want to thank all our employees for their dedicated work on behalf of one another, our customers and our shareholders.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide
