ecoDemonstrator to test new cabin and efficiency technologies
Focus will be on sustainable cabin interiors, airport operations and safety enhancements.
The Boeing ecoDemonstrator program will test three dozen technologies focused on improving operational efficiency and sustainability in cabin interiors, one of the most challenging parts of recycling an airplane. The company will begin testing this month using the program’s flagship airplane, a 777-200ER (extended range).
The Boeing ecoDemonstrator projects include:
- Airport operations: Testing to enable single-engine taxi and digital taxi clearances to reduce fuel use and enhance safety by reducing pilot workload
- Airport noise: Quantifying the benefits of flight operation procedures, like steeper glide slope and continuous descent approach, to reduce community noise, fuel use and emissions
- Waste-reducing materials: Lighter, recyclable and more durable floor coverings and recycled carbon fiber ceiling panels – both made with 25% bio-based resin
- Noise and weight reduction: Cabin insulation to better reduce noise and regulate humidity and temperature, and fabric-covered acoustic panels for the bulkhead and galley
- Future cabin concepts: Economy and business class seats with sensors that detect if someone is seated during taxi, takeoff and landing, which can improve safety, and reduce crew workload and downtime for maintenance; a touchless water conservation lavatory; and galley technologies to make cabin service more efficient and reduce food waste
Why it matters: “The Boeing ecoDemonstrator program helps us make tangible improvements to our products – allowing us to reduce the environmental impact of flying, improve the in-flight experience, and strengthen the safety of our airplanes,” said Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
“The ecoDemonstrator program is among our most iconic flight demonstrators, having tested 250 technologies since it first took flight in 2012,” said Brian Moran, Boeing’s chief sustainability officer. “This year’s testing of various cabin interiors aims to help solve for the portion of our airplanes that is not reusable or recyclable while also reducing fuel use and crew workload.”
By the numbers:
- Four of the cabin technologies will be featured at the 2024 Aircraft Interiors Expo May 22-24 in Hamburg, Germany.
- Since its initial flights in 2012, almost every platform of the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program has flown on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
- This year, the flagship airplane will fly on a 30/70 blend of SAF and conventional jet fuel.
Go deeper: More information about the ecoDemonstrator program is available at boeing.com/ecoDemonstrator.
- Boeing’s sustainability commitments, partnerships and efforts are available at https://www.boeing.com/sustainability.
