Sept. 19. 2008 - NWA Cargo, the freight-shipping arm of Northwest Airlines, has placed an order for 4,200 lightweight cargo containers, saying it will save up to 1.3 million gallons of fuel each year.

As part of its fuel conservation program, the company has also replaced engines on five of its freighter aircraft with more fuel efficient and higher-performance engines, which the airline estimates will save an estimated 2.4 million gallons of fuel per year and eliminate over 26,000 tons of carbon emissions.

NWA Cargo says it has found additional savings of 450 gallons of fuel per freighter flight utilizing direct Russian over-flight routes. In 2007, the airline saved almost 100,000 gallons of fuel due to the reduced flying time.

In 2000, Northwest Airlines invested $6 billion in a fleet modernization effort which has helped the company reduce its own carbon emissions by 25%.

Every pound counts when it comes to an airline's fuel efficiency. Emirates recently announced earlier this year that it would be banning its two-kilogram in-flight magazine from each of its Airbus 380s to help save fuel.