The flights will test roughly 20 new technologies on a new Boeing 737-9, which will then be converted as a passenger service plane before being delivered to Alaskan Airlines after the tests are completed.
"We have a long history of working with Boeing to advance aviation technology, safety and fuel efficiency," said Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaska Airlines' vice president, public affairs and sustainability.
The ecoDemonstrator test flights use special aircraft fuel (SAF), a combination of petroleum-based and sustainable aviation fuel with up to an 80% reduction in life-cycle CO2 emissions.
Advanced technology winglets on the 737 MAX family of planes that reduce fuel use and emissions, iPad apps that provide real-time weather and other data to pilots, and a camera system on the new 777X aircraft that will enhance safety by helping pilots avoid obstacles on the ground are just a few of the technologies Boeing has implemented on its aircraft from previous ecoDemonstrator test flights.
