It has been nearly six decades since “Bleed Air” made it’s debut into Aviation starting in 1963. Once Bleed Air was introduced for commercial airlines this was followed by approximately 2% of new Fume Events worldwide. The engine wet seal maintenance replacement guidelines were extended in 1978 from 5,000 flight hours to the 30,000 or greater flight hours which we have today. This has created a global aviation problem which has resulted in Fume Events taking place now daily somewhere in the world. This was due to multiple cracked and ruptured wet seal breaches causing countless air contamination events and injured crew worldwide. The Aviation Lobby has offered nothing but resistance, denial, deception and cover ups in response to these incidents for decades. Boeing finally began to make some movement with the introduction of the Boeing B-787 Dreamliner in 2011 which was the first return to a clean Bleed Free design since the 1950s. Airbus continually refused to acknowledge the problem or offer a comparable product. They instead chose to move forward by addressing the  removal of offensive odors and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) with a new converter cabin air filtration system. They launched their new ad campaign to push the concept entitled, “Breathe Easy: You’re Flying Airbus.”  

This was a great idea in theory if it actually worked which it did not. It has now been nearly 16 years since the Boeing B-787 Dreamliner has been in service. Airbus has finally come to terms with the air contamination problem. They just made a quiet and low-key announcement at this year’s Farnborough Airshow that they will be offering a Bleed Free option for the very first time on their most popular A320 NEO model on future delivery schedules. It will be the first time Airbus will offer a product that will obtain it’s cabin air supply from the fresh air intake valves on the fuselage instead of the engines. This was all done with very little advertising or fanfare. Yet, it is huge progress none the less for the validation of Fume Events, Aerotoxic Syndrome, and the Cabin Air Quality movement. Even though, both airlines now show actions that they are taking air contamination seriously while still offering complete denial in all corporate communications, media and press releases. However, our community will take whatever small progress we can get in this long debated area of toxic Bleed Air contamination.

Link: Bleedfree.eu Article

Link: Tim van Beveren Interview

Link:  Airbus Ad Campaign VOC Filtration

Link:  FUME EVENT “Aviation’s Biggest Lie”

Link:  Aviation Travel Writer – The Flight Times