Low-fare airline EasyJet has become the first European airline to partner with US startup JetZero to develop a future blended-wing aircraft for commercial aviation.
The airline will join its Airline Working Group, providing operational insights to help with the development of this aircraft. easyJet will also share its knowledge of hydrogen propulsion systems following its ongoing work with other industry partners, like Rolls-Royce and Airbus, and explore the opportunity to use the blended-wing body as a platform for hydrogen-powered engine technology.
David Morgan, Chief Operating Officer of easyJet, said: “The blended-wing aircraft design offers the potential to maximise efficiencies and significantly reduce fuel burn and emissions in the process. Its potential to be powered by SAF or hydrogen in the future is also incredibly exciting and we look forward to working with JetZero over the coming years.”
The blended-wing aircraft design would reduce fuel burn by 50% compared to traditional tube-and-wing designs. This efficiency improvement could, easyJet stated, also reduce the requirement for SAF per passenger by up to 50%.
The aircraft itself is also agnostic to any future propulsion solutions. Its shape offers a lower impact on passenger capacity than tube-and-wing, and it can seat an estimated 250 passengers on board.
The JetZero Journey
Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero, confirmed that a “dozen” other unnamed airlines – including the recently announced Alaska Airlines – would join this group alongside easyJet. They will have an initial meeting later this year.
JetZero is aiming for an entry-into-service date of its first aircraft by 2030, although no comment was made if this would initially be for commercial aviation or defence. This first aircraft would be Jet-A fuelled, with any hydrogen-propulsion blended-wing-body aircraft still a long way off.
“We want to be absolutely as ambitious as possible about how we can accelerate the introduction of this aircraft,” confirmed O’Leary.
“The airline is not a clean slate design, so our intent is to leverage a lot of the existing parts – the great innovation is the airframe itself. Aerodynamic efficiency is the best place to start to solve key problems the customer base [airlines] have.”
The start-up has already received considerable interest and funding from the US Air Force, NASA, and the FAA, which O’Leary said would allow JetZero to work towards building a full-scale demonstrator.
O’Leary added: “[With this working group] there is an extreme sense of urgency. It’s a very practical look at how we bring this to market,” he added. “easyjet, and other airlines are validating that this is something the market wants and needs.”
Photo: easyJet
