Delta Air Lines has partnered with California-based startup JetZero to develop a climate-conscious aircraft.
The partnership is part of Delta’s work toward reaching “net-zero emissions” by 2050.
According to a news release from Delta Air Lines, the aircraft is “revolutionary,” “more sustainable,” and “looks and feels like nothing flying [in] today’s commercial skies.” The “blended-wing-body (BWB)” design is intended to be “50% more fuel-efficient than aircraft in operation today.”
Delta’s Chief Sustainability Officer Amelia DeLuca said in a statement, “Working with JetZero to realize an entirely new airframe and experience for customers and employees is bold and important work to advance the airline industry’s fuel saving initiatives and innovation goals.”
She further explained: “While Delta is focused on doing what we can today to address our carbon footprint, it’s critical we also work with a variety of partners to advance revolutionary technologies, like JetZero’s blended-wing-body aircraft, to solve for a significant portion of future aviation emissions.”
The partnership follows Delta receiving a grant from the U.S. Air Force in 2023 to “help facilitate building a full-scale demonstrator for first flight in 2027.”
“Delta will play a crucial role in the development by providing the operational expertise to help make this technology viable,” the release notes.
Delta flights have come under recent scrutiny.
On February 24, Delta Air Lines Flight 876, a Boeing 717-200, departed from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport en route to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina. Shortly after takeoff, passengers and crew observed a haze filling the cabin, prompting the flight crew to declare an emergency and return to Atlanta. The incident followed a February 22 flight from Los Angeles to Sydney being forced to return to LAX after smoke was detected in the galley.
Similarly, on February 17, Delta Flight 4819 crashed upon landing in Toronto. The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ-900, flipped upside down and caught fire during the landing. All 80 individuals on board survived, though 21 passengers sustained injuries.
