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Airbus UpNext has launched a new demonstrator programme to explore, on the ground and in flight, a new architecture for the generation of non propulsive energy through the use of hydrogen fuel cells.
On conventional airliners, the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), a small additional engine that runs on traditional jet fuel, provides together with the engines the energy required to power a number of non-propulsive aircraft functions, such as air conditioning, onboard lighting and electric power for avionics. With this new technology demonstrator, led from its facilities in Spain, Airbus UpNext will replace the actual APU of an A330 with a hydrogen fuel cell system that will generate electricity. Known as HyPower, the hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator also aims to reduce the emissions of CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and noise levels associated with a traditional APU.
New design features and integration techniques will also contribute to maturing the safety and operations of future hydrogen-powered aircraft and will demonstrate the stable operation of a fuel cell in-flight, including its restart.
“These tests will mark a new step in our decarbonisation journey and ZEROe programme through an ambitious flight demonstration that will take to the air by end 2025,” said Michael Augello, CEO of Airbus UpNext. “We want to demonstrate the operability and integration of the system, including refuelling the aircraft with hydrogen. We will demonstrate this system in realistic conditions, climbing to 25,000 ft and flying for one hour with 10kg of gaseous hydrogen on board. However, we cannot do this alone and our cooperation with the Spanish Government and external partners will be key enablers of these series of tests.”
The flight test campaign will utilise a modified Airbus A330 and a ground test bed of the system. Airbus UpNext will procure a production unit for renewable hydrogen to fulfil the entire need for the test campaign.ADVERTISEMENTFor more information on Airbus UpNext, click here.
@Airbus @AirbusUpNext #sustainability #hydrogen

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Airline associations around the world called for governments to ensure the global alignment of airport slot regulations to safeguard the consistent, fair, and transparent allocation of slots under the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG).
In a joint statement (pdf), the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Airlines for America (A4A), Airlines International Representation in Europe (AIRE), Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO), Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), European Express Association, European Regions Airline Association (ERAA), International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) set out the benefits of the WASG, which has ensured decades of stability and consistency in the application of slot management. Under the WASG, consumers have benefitted from a consistent growth in reliable schedules and expansion to new markets, while airlines and airports have seen an increase in the utilisation of scarce airport capacity.
Fragmentation of slot regulation risks disruption to airline schedules and imperils the advances in global connectivity, efficiency, competition and choice which have characterized the aviation industry in recent decades. With the number of slot-regulated airports worldwide growing steadily, it is vital that governments recognize the importance of the harmonization of slot regulations in line with the WASG.
The WASG has undergone a significant revision in recent years, with improvements to the new entrant definition to increase competition and access opportunities at congested airports. Slot performance monitoring has also been better defined to ensure optimal use of allocated slots. It is therefore important that national or regional slot regulations are aligned dynamically with the WASG so that the aviation sector and travelers can immediately benefit from these and other enhancements to the system.
The Associations also urged governments thinking of incorporating the WASG or amending existing slot regulations to work with the Worldwide Airport Slot Board, a body comprising slot experts from airlines, airports, and slot coordinators, who oversee expert revisions to the WASG. Consulting with this group of experts can ensure that governments, their economies and citizens, will continue to reap the benefits of an increasingly more interconnected, sustainable and efficient air transport network.ADVERTISEMENT“The air transport industry thrives on consistent global standards. The Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines are the unsung hero the air transport system. Because of the WASG, travelers, businesses and economies the world over have benefited from constant growth in air connectivity, strong competition, and route diversity while ensuring that utilization of scarce airport capacity also increased. Governments should align their slot rules with this global standard to benefit from better air connectivity, efficiency, and consumer choice,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
The statement was issued at the 152nd Slot Conference in Dublin, Ireland. The Slot Conference attracts over 1,000 delegates, with representatives of more than 200 slot coordinated airports and 215 individual airlines.
This twice-yearly conference has been taking place since 1948 and is a significant moment in the aviation planning diary, allowing the opportunity to meet for quickfire optimization of planned schedules, while looking at new opportunities for route and network growth. The goal of the conference is for airlines to obtain the slots that will give them the best possible schedule to offer their customers at coordinated airports. The next conference will take place in Dubai, UAE, on14-17 November 2023.

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With a resurgence in international traffic and domestic air travel back to pre-pandemic levels, Boeing has projected global demand for 42,595 new commercial jets by 2042, valued at $8 trillion.
Boeing released its 2023 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), the company’s forecast of 20-year demand for commercial airplanes and services, in advance of the Paris Air Show.
The new CMO comes three years after the pandemic grounded most of the global fleet. Key findings include:
Passenger traffic continuing to outpace global economic growth of 2.6%.The global fleet nearly doubling to 48,600 jets, expanding 3.5% per year.Airlines replacing about half of the global fleet with new, more fuel-efficient models.“The aviation industry has demonstrated resilience and adaptability after unprecedented disruption, with airlines responding to challenges, simplifying their fleets, improving efficiency and capitalizing on resurgent demand,” said Brad McMullen, Boeing senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing. “Looking to the future of air travel, our 2023 CMO reflects further evolution of passenger traffic tied to global growth of the middle class, investments in sustainability, continued growth for low-cost carriers, and air cargo demand to serve evolving supply chains and express cargo delivery.”
Boeing’s projections for regional demand and key trends through 2042 include:ADVERTISEMENTAsia-Pacific markets to represent more than 40% of global demand with half of that total in China.South Asia’s fleet will expand more than 7% annually, the world’s fastest rate, with India accounting for more than 90% of the region’s passenger traffic.North America and Europe each will account for about 20% of global demand.Low-cost carriers will operate more than 40% of the single-aisle fleet in 2042, up from 10% 20 years ago.After omitting demand for Russia and Central Asia in last year’s CMO due to uncertainty in the region, this year’s forecast covers Russia and Central Asia in the Eurasia region, which comprises about 3% of the global fleet by 2042.Commercial Services forecasts a total served market worth $3.8 trillion, including digital solutions that increase efficiency and reduce cost; robust demand for parts and supply chain solutions; growing maintenance and modification options; and effective training to enhance safety and support the pilot and technician pipeline.Also in the 20-year forecast period, Boeing anticipates demand for these models:
New single-aisle airplanes will account for more than 75% of all new deliveries, up slightly from the 2022 outlook, and totaling more than 32,000 airplanes.New widebody jets will be nearly 20% of deliveries, with more than 7,400 airplanes enabling airlines to open new markets and serve existing routes more efficiently.Air cargo will continue to outpace global trade growth, with carriers requiring 2,800 dedicated freighters. This includes more than 900 new widebodies as well as converted narrow-body and widebody models.
Boeing has published the CMO annually since 1961. As the longest-running jet forecast, the CMO is regarded as the most comprehensive analysis of the commercial aviation industry. Learn more about the Commercial Market Outlook on Boeing.com. Boeing will release its complete Pilot and Technician Outlook the week of July 24.
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future and living the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity. Learn more at www.boeing.com.

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Honda Aircraft Company has announced that it will commercialize the HondaJet 2600 Concept, an all-new light jet that was first introduced at the 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).
The company also said it will target type certification in 2028 for the new light jet, which represents a new product line for Honda Aircraft Company and will be offered alongside its existing very light jet model, the HondaJet Elite II.The new light jet program has garnered a positive market reaction since its introduction at the 2021 NBAA-BACE. The new aircraft will surpass the performance, comfort, and efficiency of typical light jets by providing a medium-sized jet experience. It is designed to be the world’s first light jet capable of nonstop transcontinental flight across the United States, with a quiet and spacious cabin suited for long-range travel and the ability to accommodate up to 11 occupants. The aircraft is also designed for single-pilot operation.
Additionally, based on the commitment of Honda Aircraft Company to reducing carbon emissions, the new light jet will deliver unparalleled fuel efficiency, with up to 20% better fuel efficiency compared to typical light jets, and over 40% better fuel efficiency than medium-sized jets during a typical mission.
“The commercialization of our new light jet represents Honda’s next chapter of skyward mobility, which further expands the potential of people’s lives,” said Hideto Yamasaki, President and CEO of Honda Aircraft Company. “By building on the expertise behind our technological innovations, we will accelerate the development of the program with sustainability a key element throughout.”
Honda Aircraft Company has identified critical suppliers for the new light jet, entering into strategic supplier agreements with Aernnova for aerostructures and components, Garmin for avionics, Spirit AeroSystems for the fuselage, and Williams International for engines. Honda Aircraft Company is finalizing engineering designs for the new light jet, with fabrication activities underway.ADVERTISEMENTFor inquiries, please visit HondaJet.com

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At the recent Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) awards ceremony in Dubai, Emirates Group Transport Services were honoured with 5 top awards; the gold award for health and safety performance, the gold award for leisure safety, a safety influencer of the year award for one of the Emirates team members, a highly commended award in the health and safety initiative, and the trophy award for best fleet safety in the Middle East.
Emirates is the only airline globally to claim a gold award for health and safety performance in transport and has won the award annually for the last 4 years. The gold award for health and safety performance covers overall health and safety performance for all aspects of the service that affect both staff and customers, while the gold award for leisure safety is for health and safety performance recognises services offered directly to guests and visitors. The influencer of the year award went to Roshan Menon, Manager of Transport Services, for his work in promoting safety in the Middle East. A highly commended award was achieved in the health and safety initiative category – Middle East, for the extensive transport support and safety measures implemented during COVID19 for the Emirates Group. The final award, trophy award for fleet safety was presented for excellence in managing occupational road risk in the Middle East.
In the UAE, Emirates operates a fleet of over a thousand vehicles to transport passengers, cabin crew and flight deck, as well as other employees to and from the workplace, averaging 2.5 million road trips in an average year. One of the many benefits offered to Emirates Cabin Crew is a dedicated state-of-the-art shuttle service to and from their accommodation to the airport. Emirates’ Pilots are chauffeur-driven between their home and the airport for their flight duties. Ground staff for both Emirates and dnata are also transported to and from work.
Emirates Group Transport Services operates in over 167 countries, offering Emirates customers the opportunity to avail of convenient coaches with Emirates Shuttle Services, and luxurious Emirates Chauffeur Drive services for First and Business Class passengers. Emirates shuttle services are comfortable coaches available in selected destinations in the UAE, Japan, US and Canada, transporting Economy and Premium Economy passengers from the airport to nearby cities. Emirates Chauffeur Drive ensures First and Business Class customers enjoy a smooth transfer to and from the airport in a high-end vehicle like a BMW or Mercedes. Emirates also manages standards and protocols for external service providers internationally who transport premium customers to and from the airport in comfort and safety as part of the signature Emirates Chauffeur Drive service.

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NASA and Boeing said Monday the aircraft produced through the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project has been designated by the U.S. Air Force as the X-66A.
The new X-plane seeks to inform a potential new generation of more sustainable single-aisle aircraft – the workhorse of passenger airlines around the world. Working with NASA, Boeing will build, test, and fly a full-scale demonstrator aircraft with extra-long, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts, known as a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept.
“At NASA, our eyes are not just focused on stars but also fixated on the sky. The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator builds on NASA’s world-leading efforts in aeronautics as well climate,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The X-66A will help shape the future of aviation, a new era where aircraft are greener, cleaner, and quieter, and create new possibilities for the flying public and American industry alike.”
The X-66A is the first X-plane specifically focused on helping the United States achieve the goal of net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions, which was articulated in the White House’s U.S. Aviation Climate Action Plan.
“To reach our goal of net zero aviation emissions by 2050, we need transformative aircraft concepts like the ones we’re flying on the X-66A,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, who announced the designation at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum in San Diego. “With this experimental aircraft, we’re aiming high to demonstrate the kinds of energy-saving, emissions-reducing technologies the aviation industry needs.”ADVERTISEMENTNASA and Boeing sought the X-plane designation shortly after the agency announced the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project award earlier this year. The Air Force confers X-plane status for development programs that set out to create revolutionary experimental aircraft configurations. The designation is for research aircraft. With few exceptions, X-planes are intended to test designs and technologies that can be adopted into other aircraft designs, not serve as prototypes for full production.
“We’re incredibly proud of this designation, because it means that the X-66A will be the next in a long line of experimental aircraft used to validate breakthrough designs that have transformed aviation,” said Todd Citron, Boeing chief technology officer. “With the learnings gained from design, construction, and flight-testing, we’ll have an opportunity to shape the future of flight and contribute to the decarbonization of aerospace.”
For the X-66A, the Air Force provided the designation for an aircraft that validates technologies for a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing configuration that, when combined with other advancements in propulsion systems, materials, and systems architecture, could result in up to 30% less fuel consumption and reduced emissions when compared with today’s best-in-class aircraft.
Due to their heavy usage, single-aisle aircraft today account for nearly half of worldwide aviation emissions. Creating designs and technologies for a more sustainable version of this type of aircraft has the potential for profound impact on emissions.
NASA’s history with the X-plane designation dates to the 1940s, when its predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) jointly created an experimental aircraft program with the Air Force and the U.S. Navy. The X-66A is the latest in a long line of NASA X-planes. Additionally, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, has provided technical expertise and support for several additional X-planes.
For the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, NASA has a Funded Space Act Agreement with Boeing through which the agency will invest $425 million over seven years, while the company and its partners will contribute the remainder of the funding, estimated at about $725 million. NASA also will contribute technical expertise and facilities.
The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project is an activity under NASA’s Integrated Aviation Systems Program and a key element of the agency’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership, which focuses on developing new sustainable aviation technologies.
Learn more about the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator at:

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to address sustainability challenges in the aviation industry.   Reduction of problematic single use plastics products (SUPP) and improving the circularity in the use of plastics by the industry is the initial focus of the partnership as UNEP leads global efforts to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, by the end of 2024. 
Making aircraft cabins more sustainable is a priority for airlines and their passengers. The complex and asymmetrical regulatory environment, however, often poses an obstacle by preventing circular economy best practices. In the absence of a global approach, differing regulations at both ends of a journey severely limit the actions that airlines can take.
IATA advocates for a simplified and harmonized regulatory environment that would enable a reduction in plastic utilization and greater reuse, and recycling of cabin waste, including plastics, where they are needed. To this end, the partnership will step-up IATA’s engagement with UNEP to ensure that aviation’s unique challenges and opportunities are represented in the upcoming international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. 
Already, IATA and UNEP are working on joint guidance on Re-thinking Plastics in Aviation. This comprehensive resource will encompass an overview of regulations, guidance on SUPP replacement, and recommended best practices for both industry and regulators.
“World Environment Day reminds us that sustainability is our number one global challenge. Formalizing IATA’s longstanding collaboration with UNEP will help airlines move even faster on improving the sustainability of the aircraft cabin. It’s critical that we achieve a harmonized global regulatory framework to enable airlines to implement more comprehensive and common circular economic solutions in all markets. For example, currently our hands are tied with outdated regulations focused on incineration rather than reuse and recycling. Modernizing that will be a big step forward for sustainability,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s SVP Sustainability and Chief Economist. ADVERTISEMENT“UNEP is looking forward to working with IATA, to helping the industry transition to net zero, food waste reduction and moving away from single use and short lived plastic products. The aviation industry can also help by creating the demand for substituting these plastics with materials that do not have a negative and social environmental footprint,” said Sheila Aggarwal-Khan, Director of UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division.
More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, only nine percent is recycled, with the pollution it generates making it extremely urgent that global action is taken. 
Under this partnership, IATA and UNEP also plan to work together on knowledge sharing, guidance and networking in other key sustainability challenges including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), sustainable finance, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation including preventing wildlife trafficking and sustainable tourism. 

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Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies business, announced today that LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (“LATAM”) has selected GTF engines to power additional A320neo family aircraft, adding to their initial order selecting GTF engines to power more than 40 aircraft in 2013.
Combined with remaining options, the deal will total up to 146 aircraft. Pratt & Whitney will also provide the airline with engine maintenance through a long-term EngineWise® Comprehensive service agreement.
“At LATAM we are committed not only to connecting South America to the world, but doing so caring for the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. We are proud to enhance our partnership with Pratt & Whitney to power our A320neo family, which will allow us to do so, as we expect to grow this fleet over 100 strong in the coming years,” said Roberto Alvo, CEO, LATAM Airlines Group.
Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, LATAM is Latin America’s leading airline group, with presence in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, along with international operations within Latin America and Europe, Oceania, U.S. and the Caribbean. LATAM was the first airline in the Americas to operate the Airbus A320neo aircraft. LATAM currently operates more than 80 V2500-powered Airbus A320ceo and 16 GTF-powered Airbus A320neo family aircraft.
“Our relationship with LATAM, including their predecessor LAN Airlines, dates back more than seven decades with the Twin Wasp engine on Douglas DC-3 aircraft,” said Rick Deurloo, Commercial Engines president at Pratt & Whitney. “GTF engines are already delivering exceptional economic and sustainability benefits to LATAM and we look forward to providing even greater value in the years to come.”ADVERTISEMENTThe Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine, featuring Collins Aerospace nacelle and accessories, offers the greatest fuel efficiency and lowest greenhouse gas emissions for the Airbus A320neo family. GTF-powered aircraft reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 16% to 20%, NOx emissions up to 50% and noise footprint up to 75%.* Certified for operation on 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and successfully tested on 100% SAF, GTF engines are ready to enable further reductions in carbon footprint, which will help the aviation industry meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050s the foundation for even more efficient and sustainable propulsion technologies in the decades ahead, with advancements like the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage engine and beyond. Learn more at pwgtf.com.
*Reductions vs. prior-generation aircraft, based on 75 dB noise contour and ICAO CAEP/6 emissions regulations.

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