easyJet Announces Winners of Future Flight Competition
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Cerys, aged 8 from Norfolk, and Lara, aged 15 from Surrey, have been crowned the winners of easyJet’s ‘Aircraft of the Future’ competition following a nationwide contest.
The airline launched the competition in October, challenging the next generations of engineers to design their vision for future flying - a passenger plane for travelling across Europe powered by a sustainable energy source. Entries included designs inspired by solar-powered wings to more unconventional energy sources like hamster-wheel and worm-powered planes! The designs also featured a selection of sustainably sourced materials including seats made from coconuts (coir), one of the thickest and most resistant natural fibres available.
The reveal of the winning designs follows the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow, where the airline announced that it has joined Race to Zero, a global UN-back campaign to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest. In joining Race to Zero, the airline is committing to set an interim science-based target for 2035 as well as to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, of which technology for zero-emissions flying will play an important part.
Cerys’ winning design centred on battery power, with solar-powered wings and reusable cups for passengers made of processed banana leaves. Whilst Lara’s design looked at using pressurised hydrogen and fuel-cell stacks to generate electricity to power their passenger aircraft of the future.
Lara’s aeroplane also took inspiration from the animal kingdom with material replicating fish scales for the plane’s fuselage, intended to decrease drag for the plane to improve fuel-efficiency.
All design entries were judged by an esteemed panel of experts in flying, sustainability, design and zero emission technology. easyJet pilot and zero emission aircraft modeller Debbie Thomas was joined on the panel by easyJet’s Director of Sustainability Jane Ashton; zero emission aircraft expert Glenn Llewellyn from Airbus; Jeff Engler, CEO of Wright Electric which is developing a zero-emission short-haul plane; and famous automotive transportation designer Frank Stephenson, best known for his iconic car designs for MINI and Fiat 500, as well as recent innovative work designing electric flying vehicles.
The panel judged all the entries on the quality of the design, interpretation of the theme, creativity, innovation, practicality, and most of all, how the design has considered sustainability and the environment.
Championing the development of a zero-emission aircraft to de-carbonise aviation has long been a focus for easyJet and the airline is working with its partners Airbus and Wright Electric to accelerate the development of zero-emission technologies. The airline is optimistic that it could begin flying customers on planes powered by hydrogen-combustion, hydrogen-electric or a hybrid of both by the mid to late-2030s.
