UAE’s Etihad and Boeing to begin sustainability-centred Dreamliner test flights this year

UAE’s Etihad and Boeing to begin sustainability-centred Dreamliner test flights this year

UAE airline Etihad Airways and Boeing will begin using a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner from August, which will serve as a platform to test and unveil new technologies to enhance the concept of sustainable flights.

Etihad and Boeing signed an agreement at the Dubai Airshow in 2019 to set up a special 'Greenliner' commercial flight which would serve as a "flying laboratory for testing procedures and initiatives that could further reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.“

Read: Etihad, Boeing to deploy special 'sustainable' Dreamliner flight next year

Part of the ecoDemonstrator programme, some of the elements that will be tested include fuel as well as lighter alternatives to plastic cutlery on board.

The test flights will be flown on a blend of sustainable fuel, lowering the airline's environmental footprint.

The testing programme will last approximately four weeks before Etihad's Boeing 787-10 is entered into service in Abu Dhabi.

We are working together with @Boeing on the seventh iteration of the #ecoDemonstrator programme to test innovative technologies in the air, building on the core innovation and sustainability tenets of our strategic partnership.

Learn more: https://t.co/ELAHxElcHL pic.twitter.com/yEd9rbjSf4

“” Etihad Airways (@etihad) July 20, 2020

"This is the latest programme under Etihad's industry-leading strategic partnership with Boeing, focusing on innovating real-world solutions to