New 'planet-friendly' airbus to offer direct flights from Vancouver to Germany

The Condor A330neo landed in Vancouver Thursday, with the leadership team touting its distinctly designed plane as "one of the most sustainable aircraft in the skies."

The company says its new Rolls Royce engine and aerodynamic design have resulted in lower CO2 emission levels, citing it as the first aircraft in the world already certified for the regulatory reduction in CO2 emissions, required by 2028.

“So the aircraft, the neos we have, they meet these requirements already today,” said Mikko Turtiainen, director of sales, the Americas, Condor Airlines.

One aviation emissions expert says the company is on the right track, but the industry has plenty of work to do in order to reach emission goals.

"The fortunate part about the A330neo is its existing aviation technology, being optimized for sustainability," said JR Hammond, executive director with Canadian Advanced Air Mobility.

The industry, in line with a United Nations target, adopted the long-term goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

"We have immense challenges to hit that goal," added Hammond. "We are still en route with the technology progression coming from the electric, hydrogen, and new energy propulsion technologies but it’s not going to be easy.”

B.C.'s Harbour Air is making progress on electrifying its seaplane fleet, recently committing to the purchase of 50 electric-powered engines.

“Ultimately our big vision is to develop a sustainability aviation hub on the west coast,” said Jessica Dunn, head of marketing for Harbour Air.

The company aims to have at least one electric plane commercially certified by 2026.

Larger planes, however, remain a greater challenge. Hammond says a hybrid 30-passenger plane could be in the Canadian skies by 2030, but long-haul airliners, such as the Condor A330neo, will take significantly longer to achieve net-zero status.

“This aircraft and this technology will not get us to 2050 net zero," said Hammond. But some of these optimization pieces in the wings and in the fuel consumption is going to give us a better opportunity with new electric and hydrogen aircraft. So we treat this as some of the ingredients en route to the actual aircraft that’ll get us to net zero.”

The Condor A330neo will fly direct from Vancouver International to Frankfurt, Germany, five times a week.