Meeting corporate social responsibility goals and lowering an event’s carbon footprint can be tough with the amount of travel often required for meetings and events. This September, Atlanta’s Delta Air Lines announced it is partnering with European company Maeve Aerospace (which has offices in Germany and the Netherlands) to advance development of the Maeve Jet, a hybrid aircraft designed for regional commercial flights—good news for planners looking for more ways to host sustainably. According to Delta, the Maeve Jet could achieve up to a 40% fuel reduction with its hybrid-electric engine architecture that provides power assistance at low-altitude operations, enabling an optimization of the power plant and wing for lower fuel consumption. The jet will run on a combination of conventional jet fuel and sustainable aviation fuel, the latter of which is made from renewable or waste-based sources like beef tallow, cover crops, and agricultural byproducts.
“Delta is proud to collaborate with Maeve Aerospace to help shape the next chapter of regional aviation and accelerate progress toward a more sustainable future of flight,” says Kristen Bojko, vice president of fleet at Delta Air Lines. “As we work toward the next generation of aircraft, we look to partners like Maeve who embody the bold, forward-thinking innovation we champion at Delta—solutions that advance aircraft design, enhance operational efficiency, elevate employee and customer experiences, and cut emissions. While driving toward transformative technologies that strengthen our network and redefine regional air travel remains a key priority, we’re equally focused on safety and a more sustainable future of flight.”
Maeve joins Delta’s Sustainable Skies Lab—launched by the airline in 2023 to advance research, design, and testing for sustainable technologies—as its fifth partner. Other partners aiding in the lab’s innovation efforts include JetZero of Long Beach, California; Joby Aviation of Santa Cruz, California; Airbus of Blagnac, France; and Boeing of Arlington, Virginia. In addition, Delta has partnered with Green Taxi Solutions of Plano, Texas, to develop electric aircraft taxiing technology that aims to reduce fuel use, operating costs, taxi time, and carbon emissions.
The Maeve Jet is expected to be serviceable in the mid-2030s.
