By Kevin Michaels
The protests at last month’s European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva remind us of the need for aviation to accelerate its decarbonization progress (page 30). Sustainable aviation fuel is the only realistic near-term option for long-range jetliners but will be lucky to reach 15% penetration by the mid-2030s. Hydrogen has significant promise but is decades away as a potential solution. Aviation needs a game changer. Paradoxically, that could be a design concept that has been around for 100 years: the blended wing body.
