Etihad
Airways and Boeing today announced a first-of-its-kind eco partnership, in
which a specially-themed Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be used to test products,
procedures and initiatives designed to reduce aircraft carbon emissions.
The
Etihad Greenliner, to be introduced early next year, will be used by both
companies to explore and assess environmental sustainability initiatives while
the aircraft operates scheduled services across the airlines network. Other
stakeholders, from equipment suppliers to airspace regulators, will be invited
to join the companies in advancing and testing efficiency measures on or with
the Greenliner.
Etihad also announced that it would operate a Boeing 787
eco flight from Abu Dhabi to Brussels during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in
January 2020, incorporating a wide range of environment-focused initiatives.
The blended green-blue design for the themed aircraft
was unveiled at the 2019 Dubai International Air Show by Tony Douglas, Group
Chief Executive Officer of the Etihad Aviation Group, and Stanley Deal,
Executive Vice President of The Boeing Company, and President and CEO of Boeing
Commercial Airplanes.
Mr Douglas said: "The rapid growth of air travel has
increased aircraft carbon emissions, and it is the responsibility the aviation
industry to reverse this trend. The Etihad Greenliner will highlight the
shared commitment of Etihad and Boeing to advance sustainable practices in
aviation.
"The graduated blue tones of this design represent the
importance of water in Arabic life and culture and symbolise the blue sky
thinking needed to deliver practical, incremental initiatives to progressively
lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions."
Mr Deal said: "The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has
revolutionised commercial aviation in many ways. Its breakthrough design and
advanced technology have translated into greater fuel efficiency and lower CO2
emissions. We are delighted to partner with Etihad to leverage the Dreamliner
platform to identify ways to further improve sustainability in airline
operations."
Etihad has the largest fleet of Dreamliners in the
Middle East, and one of the largest in the world, with 30 787-9s and six of the
larger 787-10s.
It has introduced them on 38 of its 76 passenger routes
to replace less-efficient aircraft, increase capacity, and pioneer new markets,
and will continue to expand their use in 2020.
The deployment of 787s has led to significant reductions
in fuel use and carbon emissions across the airlines network, independently of
other initiatives.
Working groups will be formed between the flight
operations and engineering arms of both companies, with senior pilots and
engineers from Boeings 787 Division leading sessions at Etihads Abu Dhabi
headquarters to identify and explore more emission-reducing measures, from
changed operating practices to weight-saving initiatives.
The new partnership between Etihad and Boeing builds
upon their existing membership of Abu Dhabis Sustainable Bioenergy Research
Consortium (SBRC), an academic and industrial cooperative whose members also
include Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and the
specialist technology groups Safran and Bauer Resources.
The SBRC is working to develop commercial quantities of
biofuel from saltwater-tolerant plants, and the first commercial service to use
this fuel was an Etihad Boeing 787 flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam in
January this year. More such flights are planned using the new Etihad
Greenliner.
Please login to Comment