The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group of companies said that airlines around the world had to play their part in reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions given out commercial planes by up to 25 percent.

"We need to accelerate the pace at which we reduce aviation's impact on the environment," Branson said in a letter to industry leaders including the bosses of British Airways, American Airlines and low-cost flyer Easyjet.

"We cannot ignore that aviation does create environmental problems -- around 2.0 percent of global CO2 emissions -- although equally it produces significant economic and social benefits," he wrote.

The plan unveiled by Virgin Atlantic at a news conference in New York envisages the creation of "starting grids" for all aircraft departures -- a holding area, close to the runway, that consists of several parking bays for aircraft.

Planes could be towed closer to the runway before take-off, substantially reducing the time that their engines need to be running, Virgin Atlantic said.

Arriving planes could also turn off their engines after five minutes and be towed to their stand, saving "considerable extra CO2".

The grids would reduce fuel consumption and on-the-ground CO2 emissions by over 50 percent before take-off at London's Heathrow airport for Virgin Atlantic planes, and by nearly 90 percent for Virgin flights at JFK Airport in New York, the airline said.

"It would also mean that an aircraft flying from JFK to Heathrow could carry around two tonnes less weight in the air, which would mean that the amount of fuel burnt would be considerably less, reducing CO2 emissions even further."

Branson's letter was addressed also to engine and aircraft manufacturers such as Rolls Royce and Boeing, and airport operators including BAA in Britain.

It came after the flamboyant entrepreneur last week vowed to spend three billion dollars in the next decade on projects to combat global warming and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

To cut fuel consumption, Virgin Atlantic even plans to reduce the weight of its aircraft through using lighter paint on the exterior and lighter fittings inside the cabin.

That includes changing oxygen bottles from metal to carbon-fibre, and removing empty champagne and beer bottles which have been drunk before the plane leaves the stand for recycling.

Branson said that combined with an earlier and smoother descent by pilots coming into land, the changes would save over 150 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year, or 25 percent of the world's aviation emissions.

"With global warming, the world is heading for a catastrophe. The aviation industry must play its part in averting that," he said.

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