Etihad Airways and Boeing will use a brand new 787-10 Dreamliner to test various methods of sustainable flying.
The news was announced on the first day of FIA Connect, the virtual event replacing the Farnborough International Airshow 2020, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The move highlights Etihad’s commitment to sustainable flight, something that the UAE's national airline does not intend to renege on, despite the Covid-19 crisis.
This is the seventh iteration of Boeing's ecoDemonstrator programme, which uses commercial aircraft to test innovative technologies in the air.
Ahead of putting its newest Dreamliner into service, Etihad will work with Boeing to use the jet as a test bed for technologies that can help reduce fuel consumption, noise pollution and CO2 emissions. It's the next step in a strategic partnership that the two companies first announced at the Dubai Airshow last year, in a bid to improve airspace efficiency, reduce fuel use and cut aviation CO2 emissions.
The 2020 edition of Boeing's ecoDemonstrator programme will begin in August, and is the first time it has used a Boeing 787-10.
These Dreamliner test flights will measure aircraft noise from sensors installed on the aircraft and on the ground. Working with industry-leading partners, including Nasa, Etihad and Boeing will harness data that will be used to improve the sound reduction potential of future aircraft design.
The testing programme will run for about four weeks before Etihad takes delivery of its new Boeing 787-10. As part of the same testing programme, another flight will aim to improve airspace efficiency. The test flight will see pilots, air traffic controllers and airline operations share digital information in an effort to optimise routing efficiency.
It’s a step forward in Etihad’s commitment to sustainable flying, something that the airline’s CEO vows will not be derailed.
“It’s a Covid-dominated aviation agenda at the moment, but in no way does it overshadow the work that was going on and the commitments we’ve made to sustainability,” said Tony Douglas, speaking at FIA Connect.
All ecoDemonstrator test flights will operate on a blend of sustainable fuel, significantly lowering the jet’s environmental footprint.
“Industry collaboration is a key aspect of Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator programme that enables us to accelerate innovation. We’re proud to broaden our sustainability partnership with Etihad Airways by testing promising technologies that can reduce emissions, help commercial aviation meet our climate goals, and allow the industry to grow in a responsible manner that respects our planet and its natural resources,” said Stan Deal, Boeing’s chief executive.
'No sustainable silver bullet'
The new test flights are just one part of the puzzle that aviation needs to solve to become more sustainable.
“Etihad has been of the opinion for some time that there’s not one single solution – there’s no big silver bullet – it’s about collaboration and bringing together smart ideas that contribute to more efficient ways of flight,” said Douglas.
The industry has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus, with demand for commercial travel plunging as governments around the world issued no-travel advice and countries suspended international flights. In some ways, this forced pause has highlighted what needs to be done in terms of reducing aviation’s impact on the environment.
"I am optimistic that we can definitely crack this now," said Douglas during the FIA Connect session, entitled 'A Future of Clean Skies'.
“The bridge back from the crisis is the way that the oceans have recovered since the world has not been operating in the same way, or the way forests and animal life has recovered. We know it’s the right thing to do, and aviation has a big part to play in that,” affirmed the Etihad CEO.
Management of motorways in the sky
A test flight focusing on improving efficiency in the sky is something Douglas is particularly passionate about.
“The roads, so to speak, in the skies were almost laid down by the Romans, because many of them haven’t been reorganised since,” he said, referring to outdated flight routes used by airlines.
“Aircraft seldom fly the optimum route between A and B... There is far too much fuel being burned for all the wrong reasons.”
It’s a point that Grant Shapps, the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport and another panel member at FIA Connect, agreed with.
I'm now passing an airspace bill through parliament that's designed to reorganise the UK's airspace in a way that makes sense – why have aircraft circle around, pump out CO2, increase environmental damage and delay passengers when they could be flying straight in?
“Tony [Douglas] makes a good point re air space, it’s archaic. I’m now passing an airspace bill through parliament that’s designed to reorganise the UK’s airspace in a way that makes sense – why have aircraft circle around, pump out CO2, increase environmental damage and delay passengers when they could be flying straight in?” he said.
This is something that Etihad has been working towards rectifying. “We've made big strides in saving fuel burn through more direct routes, and continuous descent trials on our Greenliner trials earlier this year, however much more needs to be done by ANSP's [air navigation service providers] to enable better routing everywhere,” said Adrian Gane, director for sustainability at Etihad, on the sidelines of FIA Connect.
Despite Etihad’s commitment to sustainable flying, Douglas also admitted that the airline is fighting for survival.
“The commercial implication in the aftermath of Covid suggests that there’s going to be a seismic shape change to the way in which our very industry goes forward," warned Douglas.
"And those who do have the opportunity to move forward will build the industry in response to Covid-19 from a wellness point of view, but also to maintain the drive on sustainability. I think those two aspects will become the ever-present foundation stones going forward,” he added.
Can aviation be a force for good?
Aviation is one way that people around the world connect with one another, something that is likely to be thrown into the spotlight after prolonged movement restrictions that have prevented people from seeing loved ones.
Etihad operates one of the biggest 787 fleets in the world, an aircraft that is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous generation of Boeing aircraft. The airline is on track to exceed current recommendations in carbon offsetting and reduction, and has pledged to a net zero CO2 target by 2050.
"It's a Covid-dominated aviation agenda at the moment, but in no way does it overshadow the work that was going on and the commitments we've made to sustainability,"
However, it’s not an approach that will come cheaply warns Etihad's director of sustainability.
“Nothing comes for free and it’s inevitable that all of us – airlines, passengers and governments – will have to pay for new investment if we're to reach net zero. However there is plenty of leeway to reprioritise what we currently pay for," said Gane.
Earlier this year, Eithad flew test flights designed to study improvements needed in airspace management. In January it operated an eco-flight to Brussels as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. A subsequent flight to Dublin saw the airline save three tonnes of CO2 largely by optimising route planning and operating continuous ascent and descent operations.
World's first single-use plastic free flight
On April 22 last year, the airline celebrated Earth Day by operating the world's first ultra-long-haul flight without single-use plastic.
Departing Abu Dhabi and touching down in Brisbane, Australia, the 14-hour flight was part of the first stages of Etihad’s plan to reduce its single-use plastics by 80 per cent by the end of 2022. Almost 100 plastic items onboard were substituted for sustainable alternatives, from the bags that normally hold reusable headsets, to cups, cutlery and toiletries.
Etihad is slowly resuming its network after more than three months of suspended commercial services. The airline has most recently announced it will operate services to China from Monday, July 27, bringing its total number of destinations in operation to 59 by August.
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Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
The years Ramadan fell in May
match info
Southampton 0
Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')
Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)
Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Read more about the coronavirus
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
More on animal trafficking
SECRET%20INVASION
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ANALYSTS’ TOP PICKS OF SAUDI BANKS IN 2019
Analyst: Aqib Mehboob of Saudi Fransi Capital
Top pick: National Commercial Bank
Reason: It will be at the forefront of project financing for government-led projects
Analyst: Shabbir Malik of EFG-Hermes
Top pick: Al Rajhi Bank
Reason: Defensive balance sheet, well positioned in retail segment and positively geared for rising rates
Analyst: Chiradeep Ghosh of Sico Bank
Top pick: Arab National Bank
Reason: Attractive valuation and good growth potential in terms of both balance sheet and dividends
Company%20Profile
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The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
