Airbus is studying, together with partners, the use of 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in ground and flight tests on an A350-900. The airframer says that it in recent days completed an initial flight test from Toulouse for which one of the twinjet's Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines was powered with 100% SAF, as part of tests to check the sustainable fuel's compatibility with aircraft systems. In April, the manufacturer and its partners – Rolls-Royce, SAF supplier Neste and German aerospace research centre DLR – intend to start test flights to measure the aircraft's emissions, in order to explore the possibility of using 100% SAF on both the aircraft's engines toward year-end, Airbus says. "Both the flight and the ground tests will compare emissions from the use of 100% SAF… against those from fossil kerosene and low-sulphur fossil kerosene," the airframer states. SAF has so far been blended with at least 50% conventional, fossil-based kerosene. Flights under the new project, named "Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels", will use SAF produced with hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids. DLR's Dassault Falcon 20-E research aircraft will be deployed to measure the A350's emissions, while ground tests will assess particulate-matter emissions to gauge the environmental impact at airports. The University of Manchester in the UK and National Research Council of Canada will be involved in the ground tests. Following the planned April start, flight tests will be temporarily halted before being resumed in November. Airbus cites preferable weather conditions as a reason for the break. It declined to specify the number of sorties or flying hours planned under the project. Rolls-Royce civil aerospace director product development and technology Simon Burr states that SAF is essential to decarbonise air transport as long-haul flights "will involve the use of gas turbines for decades to come". He adds: "This research is essential to support our commitment to understanding and enabling the use of 100% SAF as a low-emissions solution." Airbus new energy programme manager Steven LeMoing describes the use of SAF as a "vital part" of meeting the aviation sector's declared target of carbon-neutrality by 2050. "This exciting collaboration will not only provide insight into how gas-turbine engines function using 100% SAF with a view to certification, but identify the potential emissions reductions and environmental benefits of using such fuels in flight," he states. Neste says its SAF products reduce greenhouse-gas emissions up to 80% versus fossil-based jet fuel "when all lifecycle emission are taken into account". The A350 tests will "clarify the additional benefits" of using SAF, notes the Finnish company's vice-president Europe for renewable aviation Jonathan Wood. In 2015 and 2018, DLR conducted flight tests with its A320 research aircraft in partnership with NASA to measure emissions while the narrowbody was operating with SAF blends. These campaigns showed a potential soot reduction of 30-50% depending on the fuel blend. "We hope this new campaign will show that this potential is now even greater," states DLR project manager Patrick Le Clercq.

US major Delta Air Lines will at the beginning of April start operating quarantine-free flights from New York JFK to Italy's Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa airports. The new flights will allow the passengers to avoid Italy's mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival, as they will entail a rigorous pre- and post-flight testing regime to determine an individual's Covid-19 infection status. The Rome and Milan services, to be launched on 1 and 2 April respectively, will be operated through 30 June, and are available to all citizens permitted to travel to Italy for essential reasons such as education, health or work, says Delta.
Frequency on the Rome route will step up from an initial thrice-weekly to daily service in June. The Milan flights will be operated four times per week for the first month and then daily from 2 May.

Turboprop manufacturer ATR is focusing on the aircraft replacement market, new variants, and incremental improvements of its product line as means to recover from the crisis. The manufacturer, jointly owned by Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo, delivered 10 aircraft and received six orders in 2020, it says. In 2019, the Toulouse-based company had delivered 68 aircraft and received 79 orders. Among the 2020 deliveries was the turboprop family's first purpose-built freighter, based on the ATR 72-600, which was handed over to FedEx in December. That variant and an in-development short take-off and landing (STOL) version of ATR 42-600, scheduled to be delivered from second half 2022, are at the centre of the manufacturer's plan for recovery from the pandemic. ATR says it has a "clear and actionable plan to overcome the current challenges by continuing to pioneer sustainable and cutting-edge solutions for regional connectivity". Beyond the new STOL and freighter variants, ATR is banking on demand arising from the need to replace ageing aircraft, citing a fleet of around 900 regional turboprops that reach the end of their service life over the next years. Additionally, the manufacturer says it will provide "incremental improvements" to enhance operational efficiency and reduce maintenance costs of its products. Such improvements were also introduced in the past to sharpen ATR's edge versus its sole remaining Western-built rival, the De Havilland Dash 8-400. In February, Canadian manufacturer De Havilland said that it would, during the first half of this year, "pause" Dash 8 production for an unspecified period, citing "the impact of the pandemic on demand for new aircraft globally". Amid wider efforts to improve aviation's environmental credentials as part of the recovery, ATR says it will be "further investigating its possibilities" to reduce fuel consumption until "new disruptive technologies" become available. Chief executive Stefano Bortoli does not foresee an improvement in air travel before the end of 2020. He argues, however, that the crisis has made ATRs "more attractive" for operators in European and North America, while he sees continued turboprop demand in regions in Asia, Latin America and Africa where ground transport is "not a practical choice". ATR says it is "determined to emerge stronger from the Covid crisis".