BOEING ‘COULD BE REPLACED’ BY PATHFINDER JETS AS NEW PLANES GET GREENLIGHT
A futuristic-looking passenger jet that aviation analysts believe could be a rival to troubled Boeing has been given the greenlight for testing.
JetZero’s Pathfinder plane, which is modelled after the US Air Force’s B-2 Stealth Bomber, has a “blended wing” design never previously used on a commercial jet, in which its wings and fuselage are combined in a bid to make it more fuel-efficient.
The company, founded in 2021, hopes to reduce fuel use and emissions of the jet by 50 per cent compared to other airlines and has ambitions of putting it into service by 2030.
Aviation experts say the jet could be a rival to planes made by Boeing, whose reputation has been damaged in recent months after several of its aircraft suffered technical problems, including the door panel blowing off an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Geoffrey Thomas, the editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.com in Australia, told i he thinks the plane could be more popular with airlines than Boeing jets because of its fuel efficiency and believes they will be rushing to buy them.
Mr Thomas, who was recently invited by Pathfinder to view a 1:8 scale demonstration version of the plane at Long Island, California, said it will be a “game changer” for the airline industry” and “passengers will love it”.
He said that because the plane needs less fuel for journeys, flight prices will plummet.
Mr Thomas said: “Fuel is increasing in price. We are living in an unsustainable world. Fuel security is a big issue. It will definitely impact on airfares – and reduce them. Not only is it good for the environment also airfares are going to be lower. It will definitely make a significant difference.
“I believe this aircraft will be the start of a fleet of aircraft that will rival Boeing.
“Burning half the amount of fuel has a massive amount of appeal. Not only are you burning half the amount of fuel, the airfares are going to come down as well.
“Airlines are going to be very interested in this. I believe there is no question that passengers are going to take to it.”
He believes the plane, which seats 250 passengers, will appeal to eco-conscious travellers because of how fuel efficient it is.
Some experts believe the company’s ambitions of putting an aircraft into service by 2030 is unrealistic – because many jets can take up to 15 years to be approved to fly.
Rhys Jones, aviation editor of the Head for Points frequent flyer website, told i he does not think the plane has potential to enter service until at least 2050.
He said that because the Pathfinder is using a new design, certification agencies will have to do more tests on it to prove it is safe to fly.
Mr Jones said: “Planes have to do thousands of hours of tests before they can go into service – like environmental conditions tests which will see them being flown in the Middle East in deserts where it is hot and Greenland where it is cold, and they will have to land on ice and snow and make sure it can be de-iced.
“I would be shocked if it is brought into service before 2050. It will probably not be in service before 2050 and not in the next two decades.”
He said that commercial planes can take a long time to go into service because it is not straightforward to produce them on a mass scale.
Bernard Lavelle, principal aviation consultant at BL Aviation Consulting, told i: “I doubt it would be ready by 2030 as there are a lot of hoops to get through with new aircraft before they are approved.”
Guy Gratton, associate professor of aviation and the environment at Cranfield University in Bedford, agreed, telling i: “I don’t think that their projected service entry of 2030 is realistic: developing, certifying, and introducing a new airliner takes far longer than that, even for a large aerospace ‘prime’ like Boeing or Airbus let alone a small, relatively new company like this.
“But that doesn’t mean that their ideas are wrong – just that it’ll take a lot longer than they’re claiming.”
2024-04-12T16:39:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd