Air New Zealand outlines requirements for low-emissions turboprops

Spark New Zealand

20/12/2021 22:08

* Plan may involve retrofitting existing aircraft
    * Would help meet goal of net zero emissions by 2050

    By Jamie Freed
    Dec 21 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand Ltd  AIR.NZ  said on
Tuesday it had outlined requirements to suppliers as part of
plans to replace its fleet of De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q300
turboprops with lower-emissions technology by around 2030.
    "The ideal candidate aircraft will be a drop in replacement
for the Q300 for seamless integration into the existing Air New
Zealand turboprop network, which may include retrofit of the
existing aircraft," the airline said.
    The plan to seek proposals by March 2022 comes as companies
pour more resources into developing cleaner turboprop technology
to help airlines meet a challenging industry-wide target of net
zero emissions by 2050.
    Private equity-owned De Havilland signed a memorandum of
understanding last week with hydrogen-electric-engine developer
ZeroAvia to develop line production and retrofit programmes for
its turboprop models that could be certified this decade.
    Another company, Universal Hydrogen, is developing hydrogen
conversion kits for Dash 8s and ATR72s and has signed a letter
of intent for Dash 8 conversions with Icelandair Group
 ICEAIR.IC . 
    Universal Hydrogen signed an agreement last month with
Australia's Fortescue Future Industries  FMG.AX  to develop
green hydrogen and logistics hubs in New Zealand.
    Air New Zealand said 7% of its carbon emissions in the 2019
financial year came from its fleet of Q300 and ATR72 turboprops,
which fly on domestic routes mostly shorter than 350 km (217
miles) and will be the easiest to replace with new-technology
planes. 
    The airline's 23 50-seat Q300s are on average a decade older
than its 29 68-seat ATR72s, meaning they will be due for
replacement earlier. 
    Air New Zealand has already signed agreements with Airbus SE
 AIR.PA  and ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Italy's
Leonardo  LDOF.MI , to study low-emissions aircraft. The airline
said on Tuesday it hoped to get a one- to nine-seat
low-emissions plane for training or freight missions by 2025.

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REUTERS NEXT-Universal Hydrogen CEO sees jetmakers backing new
fuel    [nL8N2SM65K ]
Fortescue signs deal to bring green hydrogen to airlines, more
to come     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2S103Z 
 Air New Zealand studying how to add low-emissions planes to
fleet     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2QI05H
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 (Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Peter Cooney)
 ((Jamie.Freed@thomsonreuters.com;))