Air New Zealand is joining Embraer's Energia Advisory Group and has brought the Brazilian manufacturer into its Mission Next Gen Aircraft initiative.
The Energia group is made up of airlines, lessors, manufacturers and other aviation experts advising Embraer’s Energia project for developing "sustainable aircraft for the future", while the Mission Next Gen Aircraft project aims similarly to develop "zero emissions aircraft technology".
The agreement will see the companies working together on design requirements for next-generation sustainable aircraft, something Air New Zealand chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin said "won’t be met by a ‘business as usual’ approach".
"Mission Next Gen Aircraft aims to accelerate the technology and infrastructure needed to decarbonise our domestic flights, by joining forces with the world’s leading aircraft developers, innovators and infrastructure providers," Hannifin added.
“As the global leader in regional aircraft, Embraer is ideally positioned to bring disruptive technologies to smaller aircraft first. Air New Zealand, operator of a large, complex, and diverse regional network, is the perfect collaborator and we’re proud to be a part of this initiative” said Arjan Meijer, President and chief executive of Embraer Commercial Aviation.