Como a companhia aérea norueguesa Widerøe está resistindo tão bem à enorme tempestade COVID-19

Stein Nilsen:

Yeah, but that will not be the final solution and we are very open with both Rolls[1]Royce and Tecnam. But if we want a more sustainable platform for a regional traffic, someone have to go first. And I think a face that when we as regional carriers can show the communities that it’s really possible to fly without emission. I think it will change the airline industry or the regional part of the airline industry. And we see a lot of opportunities for new offering into the market, if we can pull off a zero-emission aircraft.

Jens Flottau:

So you’re saying a few of your routes would be suitable for such a small aircraft, but the larger part of that PSO network on the west coast would need to be operated by a larger electric aircraft or.

Stein Nilsen:

Yeah, and we still need to find an aircraft around 40 seats. The Dash 8 today is 39-seater, so we need to come up in that kind of size. But we expect that will be beyond 2030, and we can hold Dash 8 fleets, towards 2030, 35, if we want to wait that kind of technology development.

Jens Flottau:

What are the main challenges of the transition to electric in terms of operations for Wideroe? Battery swaps, recharging and so on.

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Wideroe

Stein Nilsen:

And the most interesting question is at the moment is, what kind of energy source? We are pretty convinced that the next generation will have an electrical engine, but what kind of energy source? Of course, Tecnam is doing an all-electric. ZeroAvia is doing some hydrogen fuel cells and there is also other working with hybrid concepts.

So depending on the energy source, you will have different challenges. Some for charging, some for producing hydrogen and so that’s an uncertain picture at the moment, what kind of infrastructure you need. Of course there is a lot of challenges, and I think the OEMs can fill you in on controlling electric, electricity, electrical engines and that kind of thing. But we are pretty convinced that the electric engine is a better solution for short haul flying than today’s technology concepts.

But of course, Widerøe is flying under very, very special conditions. And we have seen that for all the aircraft types we have tried to take in in the Widerøe fleet. That the Arctic coastal climate that we are flying in, rapidly shifting winds, severe icing conditions even during the summer, is very, very special challenges for OEMs that will try to build a new aircraft. So we have a long list of details we are discussing with our partners too, and that’s one of the main reasons that we are using a lot of resources on this. We will like to be sure that we can use such kind of aircraft in Norway when it’s released to the market.

Jens Flottau:

Now, your good friends at Embraer are talking about a new turboprop larger than the opposer the Dash 8’s and would be more conventional than what you described. Not electric, maybe hybrid capable at some point. What do you make of that?

Stein Nilsen:

Now, I think we don’t know if it is possible with today’s technology to find a zero emission on that 50-, 60-, or 70-seater, I can’t answer that question. I hope we can have that on the smaller aircraft, but the lower the emission, you’re better. And you look around, you have files of flight shaming, and you have a lot of emission charges going with extreme growth. That’s part of our challenge with the business model we are seeing for the future cannot cope with the traditional turboprop, with that kind of emissions. It’s too costly to operate with all those charges we have to pay.

I think if you look around, I think the concept of flight shaming will be visible in our profit and loss as time goes by. I think the communities will demand of us in the airline business that we find new and more effective solution, especially on the emission side, to be able and to be allowed to grow further. I’m convinced of that. Sustainability equals future profitability.

Jens Flottau:

Well that’s a great way to close this interview. Sustainability equals our future. Thanks Stein very much for taking the time, that was really, really interesting. Unfortunately, time’s up for this. Also, thanks to the viewers for watching and until the next time.

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Avatar de Linda Hohnholz, editora da eTN

Linda Hohnholz, editora da eTN

Linda Hohnholz escreve e edita artigos desde o início de sua carreira profissional. Ela aplicou essa paixão inata a lugares como a Hawaii Pacific University, a Chaminade University, o Hawaii Children's Discovery Center e agora o TravelNewsGroup.

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