Rolls-Royce has powered a turboprop engine with hydrogen during a ground test in partnership with EasyJet. The trial was conducted at an outdoor test facility at the Boscombe Down military airfield in the UK, using a converted Rolls-Royce AE2100-A, and represented the first time a current-generation aero engine had been powered by hydrogen, the manufacturer says. AE2100-A engines were installed on Saab 2000 regional turboprops. Subsequent variants of the AE2100 family power Lockheed Martin C-130 and Leonardo C-27J military transports. Rolls-Royce highlights that the green hydrogen deployed for the trial was produced using wind and tidal power at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) test facility in the Orkney Islands. The engine maker describes the early concept demonstrator trial as a "key proof point" in its own and EasyJet's decarbonisation strategies. The two companies plan to conduct further rig trials before a "full-scale ground test" with a Pearl 15 business-jet engine, and they have a "longer-term ambition to carry out flight tests", Rolls-Royce says. At the Farnborough air show in July, EasyJet and Rolls-Royce revealed the programme, dubbed H2ZERO, to develop hydrogen combustion technology for aircraft. The project, to which EasyJet contributes investment and airline operational know-how, builds on previous hydrogen combustion and fuel system rig tests conducted by Rolls-Royce with Cranfield and Loughborough universities. Rolls-Royce chief technology officer Grazia Vittadini describes the trial at Boscombe Down as a "landmark achievement", adding: "We are pushing the boundaries to discover the zero-carbon possibilities of hydrogen, which could help reshape the future of flight." EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren states that the UK low-cost airline is supporting the research because "hydrogen offers great possibilities for a range of aircraft, including [narrowbodies]. That will be a huge step forward in meeting the challenge of net zero by 2050." The UK's secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy Grant Shapps, meanwhile, asserts that the nation is "leading the global shift to guilt-free flying". He adds: "This is a true British success story and is a prime example of how we can work together to make aviation cleaner while driving jobs across the country." EMEC was established in 2003 after a UK parliamentary committee recommended that a wave and tidal energy test facility be set up. The site has since received funding from the UK and Scottish governments, local and regional government bodies, the Carbon Trust, and the European Union.

Australia's Regional Express reaffirmed expectations of a profitable full year on the back of improved pre-tax profit from domestic jet operations in October. The airline disclosed a pre-tax profit of about A$2 million ($1.35 million) for domestic jet operations in October, improving from the "slight profitability" in September, marking the first time it has reported a monthly profit from jet operations. Its regional Saab operations remained loss making in October, but EBITDAR was a positive A$1 million for the month, having been EBITDAR positive since September, Rex says in a filing disclosed to the Australian Securities Exchange today. The airline believes that its regional Saab operations will return to monthly profitability by the third quarter of financial year (FY) 2023. The board has reaffirmed its expectations that the group will make up for the accumulated losses incurred in the first four months to emerge overall profitable for the entire financial year.

Moldova's civil aviation authority has warned that Air Moldova is at "potential risk of insolvency". An unannounced inspection uncovered "serious deficiencies" in the carrier's finances, says the regulator, which believes these could "disrupt the smooth functioning of the operator and the safety of the planned air operations". It adds: "The air operator appears to have major financial difficulties, facing problems of financial stability and a potential risk of insolvency." The civil aviation authority says "it is necessary to start a risk management process immediately" and has requested that Air Moldova submit for approval a corrective action plan "to remedy the precarious financial situation, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the operator". The airline has also been instructed to suspend ticket sales where "no properly approved flight schedule and/or authorisation for the [route] operation" is in place. Air Moldova argues that the regulator's request for a halt in ticket sales is "unfounded and illegitimate". The airline adds that it has contested all non-conformities raised in the latest audit, and complains of being "regularly subjected to unjust, illegitimate and unacceptable acts of subjugation". Since privatisation in 2018, Air Moldova has, it says, "been working conscientiously, transparently, paying considerable taxes to the state, developing its network of destinations [and] promoting the image of the country and civil aviation internationally in accordance with all world standards." It adds: "Air Moldova is not about politics [and] will not tolerate... attacks on it." The carrier has also indicated plans to initiate court action. Data shows Air Moldova has two Airbus A319s, one A320, two A321s and an Embraer 190. The two A319s – 16 and 20 years old, respectively, and powered by CFM International CFM56-5Bs – are managed by Carlyle Aviation Partners, as is one of the A321s: a CFM56-powered jet built in 1998. The 2005-vintage A320 and the other A321, built in 2000, are managed by TrueAero and Willis Lease Finance, respectively, and powered by International Aero Engines V2500s. The E190, manufactured in 2010, is owned by Air Moldova.