Page 24 - MRO Business Today 15th April 2023 Latest Issue

SUSTAINABLE AVIATION

aircraft in the next 10 years and in- Honeywell’s 1-megawatt generator will 2022 and achieved even more power-
tends to fly the first LCA60T in 2025. be integrated within the turbogenerator ful results in subsequent tests. During
Vincent Guibout, Vice CEO, Flying of the hybrid electric propulsion system. the latest round of testing in late 2022,
Whales, said, “The signing of this con- With this collaboration, not only are we the megawatt generator operated at
tract with Honeywell, one of the world’s equipping the LCA60T with the best 1.06 MVA (1MW) power levels. The
leading aerospace engineering compa- technical solution for high-power on- test demonstrated the generator’s
nies, signals great technological ad- board requirements, we are paving the high-power density (~8kw/kg) and ef-
vances in high-power electrical systems way for a revolution in air transport.” ficiency (~97%), which are key enablers
and demonstrates the key role of Flying The Honeywell generator has com- in hybrid-electric propulsion for both
Whales’ product to trigger innovation. pleted its first round of testing in May aerospace and ground applications

Vistara flies first sustainable aviation fuel powered wide-

body aircraft on a long-haul route

The debut flight was from Charleston International Airport, South Carolina to Indira Gandhi International
Airport, Delhi, on Vistara’s GEnx-powered Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
a long-haul route using SAF. This is an
important milestone in our commitment
towards achieving carbon neutrality.
Since the very beginning, Vistara had
decided to invest in modern and ad-
vanced new aircraft with fuel-efficient
engines, and we remain committed to-
wards reducing carbon emissions across
all areas of our operations.”
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a
cleaner and more sustainable alterna-
tive to conventional jet fuel, lowering
carbon emissions by up to 80% over
the fuel’s life cycle, depending on the
feedstock. Vistara is constantly looking
at improved ways to do business, keep-
ing sustainability at the heart of those
innovations, and this ferry flight on SAF
is another industry-first initiative in
India.
This historic flight by Vistara comes at a time when the aviation industry is under increased scrutiny for
its contribution to climate change. Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India,
said, “We congratulate Vistara on the
istara, India’s leading full-service Vistara has always been dedicated to significant achievement of becom-
Vairline and a joint venture of Tata sustainable practices and is a member of ing the first Indian airline to operate a
group and Singapore Airlines, made the TATA Aviation Sustainability Working wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 787-9,
history by becoming the first Indian Group, along with other aviation arms on a long-haul route using SAF. This is
carrier to operate a wide-body aircraft of the TATA group, to reduce carbon a major milestone in the Indian avia-
using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) emissions. The airline, along with other tion industry’s journey towards decar-
on a long-haul route. The groundbreak- airline companies of the Tata group – Air bonization, and we are proud to have
ing ferry flight was from Charleston India and Air Asia India, recently signed been a partner in this endeavor. Boeing
International Airport, South Carolina an MoU with the Council of Scientific and remains committed to working with
to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Industrial Research – Indian Institute of Vistara and other partners to promote
Delhi, on Vistara’s newest GEnx-pow- Petroleum to collaborate on the re- the use of SAF in the Indian aviation
ered Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, search, development and deployment of industry and around the world, in sup-
the fourth in its fleet. By using a blend sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). port of our collective goal of achieving
of 30% SAF with 70% conventional jet Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, a sustainable future for air travel.”
fuel, Vistara was able to reduce approxi- Vistara, said, “We take immense pride in This historic flight by Vistara comes
mately 150,000 pounds of CO₂ emis- carrying out another pioneering initia- at a time when the aviation industry is
sions over the fuel’s life cycle. tive to operate a wide-body aircraft on under increased scrutiny for its contri-

24 April 15, 2023 www.mrobusinesstoday.com