How Delta and Airbus are Advancing Sustainable Aviation

Delta Air Lines and Airbus aren’t new partners, but the companies are expanding their relationship across a variety of new sustainable innovations. 

In celebration of Delta’s centennial year, the companies announced four collaborations in Las Vegas, USA.

“It’s estimated that 80% or more of the world’s population has never experienced air travel,” Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines said on stage at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.

“That’s why, as we continue to expand as an international airline, increasing the world’s access to travel isn’t just an opportunity – it's our responsibility.

“We live in a divided world, which is why what we do at Delta is so important.

“Our job isn’t to transport people. It’s to bring them together.”  

Airbus and the Minnesota SAF Hub

The Minnesota SAF Hub launched in August 2023 with Delta as an anchor member. 

It aims to make SAF cost competitive through a demand consortium that includes Deloitte, Bank of America, Ecolab and Delta.

The consortium will purchase the first several million gallons of SAF each year starting in the second half of 2025 with the aims of scaling production, driving down costs and securing multi-year demand to spur growth in the market. 

Coalition partners at the University of Minnesota are also developing a novel crop that can be used for a variety of purposes, including producing oil for conversion into SAF. 

Airbus announced it will join the Minnesota SAF Hub and Demand Consortium with a multi-year commitment to purchase SAF. 

“At Airbus, we pioneer sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world," says Julie Kitcher, Airbus Chief Sustainability Officer and Communications. 

"With Delta we are redefining the future of aviation. By leveraging our combined expertise, we are accelerating groundbreaking innovations — from advancing cutting-edge flight techniques to scaling up the production of renewable fuels (SAF). 

“Together, we are addressing today’s challenges and shaping a more connected, lower carbon future for generations of travellers to come.”

A new sustainable flying technique 

Airbus has pioneered a new flying technique that uses energy uplift created by a lead aircraft to improve fuel efficiency for a second aircraft. 

The technique, called fello’fly, is inspired by migrating geese.

Using fello’fly results in wake energy retrieval and can drive a reduction of at least 5% of CO₂ emissions per trip. 

Delta announced it will participate in a flight test phase planned for the second half of 2025 as part of the GEESE Flight trials — which stands for Gain Environmental Efficiency by Saving Energy — led by SESAR. 

Amelia DeLuca, Chief Sustainability Officer at Delta, says: “I am so excited for this work with Airbus — we know a sustainable future of flight is rooted in innovation and this partnership is going to take Delta’s journey to net-zero to new heights.”

Airframe design evolution

Delta says that in the future, aircraft may look entirely different to what today’s travellers are used to.

Airbus is developing an eXtra Performance Wing project that can change shape and form during flights, maximising aerodynamic efficiency. 

The project is led by Airbus subsidiary and technology incubator UpNext and uses biomimicry design principles with the hopes to significantly reduce fuel consumption. 

The eXtra Performance Wings were first tested in November 2023 on a modified Cessna Citation VII business jet.

Delta announced a partnership with Airbus UpNext to position the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer and its largest operator at the forefront of advancing next-generation technologies like these. 

The future of hydrogen power

Airbus was a founding partner of Delta’s Sustainable Skies Lab launched in 2023. 

The lab aims to “unleash the power of innovation to reduce the climate impact of air travel”. 

The companies have been working together to unlock real-world applications, including a hydrogen-powered aircraft. 

In 2020 Airbus created Aerostack, a joint venture with ElringKlinger, to create hydrogen fuel cell stacks for a ZEROe aircraft’s propulsion systems.

ZEROe is Airbus' first zero-emission commercial aircraft concept.

The hydrogen fuel cell system was first tested successfully in June 2023 where it reached its full power level of 1.2MW, the most powerful test ever achieved in aviation of a fuel cell designed for large-scale aircraft. 

The full hydrogen power system, known as the iron pod, contains a hydrogen fuel cell, electric motors and cooling and control equipment. 

This was first powered on with the hydrogen fuel cells at the end of 2023 and the company hopes to install the system after further optimisations and tests on an Airbus A380. 

Sinead Bovell, Founder of tech education company WAYE, said at the event: “Innovation can bring our diverse world closer together, and travel is a key part of that. 

“All groundbreaking innovations require thinking completely differently about what is possible.”

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