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Ahead of Christmas, Santa Claus held a press conference to discuss recent developments and the outlook for the 2023 holiday season. Saint Nick, who holds the record for most toy deliveries around the world in one night, explained his progress in sustainable sleigh operations, unruly reindeer, elves on strike and what he hopes to achieve before Christmas 2024.
Santa is preparing for the annual trip around the world with sustainability in mind. Father Christmas said he was inspired by the many innovations he saw this year in sustainable aviation fuel production and electric aircraft. A team of elves is working on a new sustainable fuel for the sleigh, he told reporters, allowing him to make his trip using 100 percent SAF. With the elves removing the lead from his fuel, Santa plans on joining a Gulfstream jet, a commercial airliner and a helicopter in making long-distance flights on the fuel. Santa's fuel is produced from a renewable feedstock made from reindeer waste. The days of burning coal are long gone and Santa expects to achieve an emission-free Christmas Eve this year.
With a surplus of coal, Santa is expanding the parameters of the naughty list. Now, through a collaboration with the Department of Transportation and the FAA, unruly passengers and unsafe operators will also find themselves with extra lumps in their stockings on Christmas morning. Santa is a stickler for the rules and agrees that unsafe behaviors put both crews and passengers at risk. The new program will allow passengers or crew members to report unsafe behaviors or operations to ensure they are investigated and end up on the naughty list if necessary. To stay off of the naughty list this year, be sure to follow all FAA guidelines when flying.
Previously, Santa had used the Spirit of Christmas to power his sleigh, but with so many modern toys packed with technology that he brings to the good boys and girls of the globe, Santa needed a more powerful energy source. Santa revealed he and his team of elf engineers have been testing a hybrid-electric sleigh, able to carry it all. The hybrid-electric system uses two power sources, a turbogenerator and Christmas Spirit. The electric turbogenerator is powered by a gas turbine and the Christmas Spirit is powered by a proprietary magic owned by Santa Claus North Pole, Inc. The elves have built a demonstrator and begun the first phase of ground testing. Santa hopes to begin flight testing by the third quarter of 2024 and fly the production model for Christmas 2025. The team also hopes to develop an all-electric model by 2030.
While Santa hopes Christmas will be greener this year, the elves have different concerns. Those working in Santa's Sleigh and Spirit division handed in a formal notice of a strike in May, claiming the toyshop elves were earning higher wages and given far more Christmas cookies than the elves working on sleigh repairs, sustainable sleigh fuels, developing Santa's proprietary Christmas Spirit and the hybrid-electric sleigh. The elves called for a 40 percent increase in wages, a two-week vacation in the summer, as well as the inclusion of benefits like daily cookie and milk breaks. The elves began their strike on May 15 and their representatives met with Santa and his lawyers to discuss terms. On May 19, the elves signed a formal agreement with Santa and resumed work on May 22. Santa agreed to a 37 percent wage increase, one-and-a-half-week vacations, and twice-daily cookie and milk breaks. Head of the Sleigh and Spirit Union, Gizmo the Elf, said the agreement satisfied all parties.As the elf strike came to an end, the reindeer began acting out. While flight training, elves witnessed multiple reindeer demonstrating aggressive and unsafe behaviors. Like the FAA, Santa does not stand for unruly behavior. Santa reported a 29 percent increase in unruly reindeer behavior on training flights from 2022. From 2022 to 2023, there was an increase in sleigh-related incidents resulting in three elf injuries, six squashed snowmen, 12 broken presents and a staggering 16 elves reported "not feeling the Christmas Spirit" after their sleigh ride. Blitzen reportedly convinced the other reindeer to go off course near Belize to take a three-hour break on the beach but when asked for a comment he did not respond. Santa said he convened a panel of elven reindeer experts to discuss better practices to keep the team flying safely. He said there was no immediate concern for 2023, but the panel should be issuing recommendations by February 2024.With advances in-flight connectivity and the 5G roll-out, Santa plans to have a 24/7 wish-list texting service to allow for last-minute ideas on Christmas Eve. As technology improves, Santa and his elves continually work to update operations at the North Pole. Apart from the new sustainable achievements, Santa said the elves are now using recycled materials and electric machines to transport presents. The North Pole has made strides in electrifying operations, but Santa expects to be the first fully electric toy shop in the world by 2025.
Santa is excited for Christmas 2023 and expects this year's SAF flight to be a monumental step in going green for the holiday season. He added that as the elves continue to progress on the hybrid-electric sleigh, developing a more potent Christmas Spirit is imperative. He said you can help power the sleigh with Christmas Spirit by leaving out milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, watching a classic Christmas movie before bed and dressing in Christmas colors.
For more information, submit a letter to Santa Claus at the North Pole.