UAE’s Etihad and Boeing to begin sustainability-centred Dreamliner test flights this year

UAE airline Etihad Airways and Boeing will begin using a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner from August, which will serve as a platform to test and unveil new technologies to enhance the concept of sustainable flights.

Etihad and Boeing signed an agreement at the Dubai Airshow in 2019 to set up a special ‘Greenliner’ commercial flight which would serve as a “flying laboratory for testing procedures and initiatives that could further reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.”

Read: Etihad, Boeing to deploy special ‘sustainable’ Dreamliner flight next year

Part of the ecoDemonstrator programme, some of the elements that will be tested include fuel as well as lighter alternatives to plastic cutlery on board.

The test flights will be flown on a blend of sustainable fuel, lowering the airline’s environmental footprint.

The testing programme will last approximately four weeks before Etihad’s Boeing 787-10 is entered into service in Abu Dhabi.

We are working together with @Boeing on the seventh iteration of the #ecoDemonstrator programme to test innovative technologies in the air, building on the core innovation and sustainability tenets of our strategic partnership.

Learn more: https://t.co/ELAHxElcHL pic.twitter.com/yEd9rbjSf4

— Etihad Airways (@etihad) July 20, 2020

“This is the latest programme under Etihad’s industry-leading strategic partnership with Boeing, focusing on innovating real-world solutions to the key sustainability challenges facing the aviation industry,” said Tony Douglas, Etihad Aviation Group CEO.

“When we launched the partnership with the announcement of the Etihad Greenliner programme at the Dubai Airshow last year, we promised it was just the beginning of a deep, structural partnership between our two organisations that would go on to lead the industry towards a sustainable future. The ecoDemonstrator programme is founded on innovation and sustainability. These are core values for Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates, and Etihad and Boeing see a great opportunity to collaborate and share knowledge to minimise the impact of aviation on the environment,” added Douglas.

Boeing and Etihad will partner with the likes of NASA and Safran Landing Systems to conduct aircraft noise measurements from sensors on the airplane and the ground, the airline said in a statement on its website.

The data will be used to validate aircraft noise prediction processes and the sound reduction potential of aircraft designs, including landing gear, that are modified for quieter operations.

Also, a flight will be conducted during which pilots, air traffic controllers and an airline’s operations center will simultaneously share digital information to optimise routing efficiency and enhance safety by reducing workload and radio frequency congestion.