Alaska Airlines Announces Major Investment Into Blended Wing Aircraft with JetZero Partnership

Expect a drastic change in design for new Alaska Airlines aircrafts in the future. Announced on August 13 2024, the company has placed an unknown investment into a California startup company known as JetZero, which is looking to build planes with a modern design.

Entering The Aero-Space Age

Alaska Airlines is looking to be among the first commercial airlines to adopt the blended-wing-body (BWB) concept into its new planes. This design consists of the body and wings being assembled in one piece, with the end result being a smooth and sleek-looking aircraft with no dividing lines.

A futuristic design isn't the only aim of JetZero's ambitions, as the company claims that the new bodies will cut carbon emissions as well as fuel consumption by 50%. This means BWB planes will consume less resources compared to traditional commercial planes.

JetZero CEO Tom O'Leary had this to say about the recent partnership with Alaska Airlines:

“Of all the great new technologies at work, the BWB design delivers the greatest impact by far. Airlines will see immediate benefit in cost savings, dramatically lower emissions and improved customer experience compared to airlines flying today.”
 

History Of The BWB Design

The first  BWB plane was made in 1924, known as the Westland Dreadnought. It was a prototype plane designed in the U.K. by Westland Aircraft intended for the now-defunct Air Ministry. The plane crashed on its first test flight, with the pilot being thrown from the craft and sustaining serious, life-altering injuries.

The United States Army Air Forces also took an early leap of faith into a BWB prototype with aircraft developer McDonnell, with a craft known as the McDonnell XP-67. While this plane existed for a number of months in 1944, it was destroyed after one of its engines caught fire, and the project was canceled afterward. McDonnell and Boeing have made efforts to design an official BWB plane in the years that followed, but these plans were also scrapped.

In the 1990s, NASA also made an effort to build a BWB aircraft with the help of McDonnell. This prototype later became the Boeing X-48B, which first flew in July 2007. Among the personnel to make this plane a reality was current JetZero co-founder Mark Page.

"People love this airframe. People have been anticipating it being the future of aviation for some time now because of the efficiency benefits that the airplane will provide," Page said to Forbes in 2023.

Due to the experience with the development of JetZero's BWB planes, Alaska Airlines will certainly turn some heads in the future, unless Airbus or another company can beat this duo to the airports. While some flyers might need time to get used to toy- or space-like plane designs, they will certainly help avoid some problems involving fuel consumption long-term.

What do you think of Alaska Airlines partnering with JetZero? Are you a fan of the BWB design, or do you like the classic plane models more? Sound off in the comments section down below!