Etihad Airways has hailed the expansion of its sustainability programme after signing a range of partnerships with manufacturers, suppliers and stakeholders.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier announced the partnerships at the Dubai Airshow and said they would allow it to extend its current programme, which is focused on its Boeing 787 fleet, to also include its Airbus 350 aircraft.
It added: “Etihad’s work with partners including Boeing, GE, Airbus and Rolls Royce supports the organisation’s strategic objectives to achieve a 20% reduction in emissions intensity in its passenger fleet by 2025, cut 2019 net emissions by 50% by 2035, and reach net zero emissions by 2050.”
Tony Douglas, group chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group (pictured, centre), said: “There’s no silver bullet for this one, no obvious single act that will provide a solution. It’s going to require the combination and the sum of many different organisations and governments working together for small, incremental improvements.
“Governments and regulators must help the industry to drive innovation for long-term solutions to decarbonising aviation. Support is needed for development of affordable and sufficient supply of sustainable fuels.
“Optimising flight paths on the busiest routes in the world would prevent untold amounts of Co2 from being pumped into the atmosphere. There is a big opportunity here that doesn’t require any new technology to implement and could be implemented today if there was a will.”
Stan Deal, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (pictured, left), said: “Partnership is critically important to decarbonise our industry, and we are honoured to work side-by-side with Etihad to advance sustainable aviation. Our flight test programmes and other joint efforts over the past two years have clearly demonstrated the value of industry collaboration.”
John Slattery, chief executive of GE Aviation (pictured, right), said: “Decarbonisation is a challenge that the entire aviation industry faces. The only way that we can address it is with agreements like this MOU with Etihad.
“Through this agreement, GE will be able to test innovative technologies that can help reduce emissions as well as enhance the time on wing of our GEnx engine, which may benefit Etihad and all our airline customers.”