This Thursday, American Airlines Flight 63 will depart Paris in an effort to up the eco ante as the first U.S. airline to test next-generation technology Trans-Atlantic.

The flight, which lands in Miami, will seem perfectly normal to all passengers aboard, but American Airlines is hoping it will help the company achieve savings of 120 million (yes, million) gallons of jet fuel in 2009 alone. And what about carbon emissions? A reduction of 2.5 billion pounds is planned for the year’s savings.

Those are big numbers—for a big plane—the Boeing 767-300 aircraft. How will they do it? By tweaking trips to include single-engine taxi-ing for departures and arrivals, continuous “climb out” and descent, optimized routes over water, and a tailored arrival. Afterward, the data will be analyzed by the FAA and further trials will be run, all in hopes that small changes can equate to big savings for airlines.

American Airlines isn’t the only airline going green, however. Check out these sites to see what the competition is up to: Virgin Atlantic’s Sustainability Challenge, Delta’s Force for Global Good, Jet Blue’s Jetting to Green, and Southwest Cares.