Boeing and American Airlines partner to rev up clean-energy, less noise with NextGen flights

Boeing is in the “greener skies” news again for its latest announcement – a new partnership with American Airlines to reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions and community noise.

The pair’s new “ecoDemonstrator Program” will test the market-readiness of emerging, eco-conscious technologies aboard a NextGen Boeing 737-800 airliner – a single-aisle craft.

The American Airlines 737-800 as well as a twin-aisle airplane (to be announced at a later date) are serving as the flight test component for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Continuous Lower Energy Emissions Noise (CLEEN) program – along with other technologies developed by Boeing and other industry partners.

Specific technologies to be on board the 737-800 are:

• Adaptable trailing edge technology – a technology being developed under the FAA CLEEN Program that reduces noise and emissions during all phases of flight including take-off, cruise and landing.
• Variable area fan nozzle that reduces community noise and enables advanced engine efficiency technologies.
• Flight trajectory optimization for in-flight planning to enable airlines to determine and fly more fuel-efficient routes and provides flight crews the ability to reroute for weather and other constraints.
• Regenerative fuel cells for onboard power; efficiently storing/generating power and adapting to aircraft electrical systems demand, potentially reducing weight, fuel burn and CO2 emissions.

“Our ecoDemonstrator flight test program allows us to accelerate promising technologies and move them onto airplane models and into new aircraft design considerations across the industry,” said Boeing ecoDemonstrator Program Manager David Akiyama. “It also allows us to verify airplane applicability and identify and eliminate potential integration challenges.”

According to American Airlines vice president Captain John Hale, this next step is exemplary of the burgeoning corporate responsibility felt by leading airlines around the world.

“Our partnership with Boeing allows us to make significant strides in putting more fuel-efficient planes in the air,” he said, “which is the most effective way to reduce our carbon footprint. We remain committed to identifying and implementing new technologies and programs that further our environmental performance.”