Doubling fuel efficiency: ‘Aircraft of future will have open engines with large fan blades,’ says Safran CEO

NEW DELHI: With fan blades twice as large as they are today and open fan engines fixed on upper wings or back of airframe, commercial aircraft in the not so distant future will look radically different in their pursuit for fuel efficiency and lower emissions. While the current generation of aircraft engines are 15% more fuel efficient then their predecessors, the world’s largest aerospace engine manufacturer — French MNC Safran — is aiming at doubling the same to 30% through new age engines that will require airframe changes.
“At four metres, the blades (of the next gen engines) would be double the two-metre diametre of the current LEAP engines and be open fan. This engine will require a new plane. That will be the decision of airframes, Airbus and Boeing. May be the next gen plane will require an upper wing or engine may be behind. We believe the airframe can bring an additional 10%. A combination of the two (20% engine tech and 10% airframe design) could lead to 30% fuel saving,” Safran Global CEO and director Olivier Andriès, 60, told TOI while giving a glimpse into the future.