Air Canada will test a new aircraft de-icing system later in 2024 that is environmentally friendly and should reduce travel time.
The company’s CEO Michael Rousseau unveiled the plans during Air Canada’s recent investor day. “It uses heating strips that melt the ice instead of having it removed during a stop at the deicing bay before takeoff,” Rousseau said. “This will not only save travel time but is expected to yield environmental benefits with less chemical deicing and reduced fuel burn.”
The airline is the launch customer for the De-Ice system and has confirmed it will install it on one its aircraft in the winter of 2024.
Boston-based De-Ice spun out from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2015. The company’s engineering team has developed a technology using high-frequency electronic currents to de-ice aircraft without the use of chemical-based fluids.
The tape-like strips attach to an aircraft’s exterior, and when activated by the pilots, the system generates a high-frequency current causing electrons on the surface to jiggle, generating heat, De-Ice said.
Its system melts snow and ice during the boarding process, which results in the aircraft finishing its de-icing process by the time it is ready to depart from the gate, the company said.
Presently, commercial and military aircraft use sprays made with propylene or ethylene glycol to remove ice and prevent accumulation, De-Ice said. This involves manufacturing, transporting, and heating chemicals as well as “longer taxi times to and from the central de-ice facilities and increased engine idling times during the de-icing process, all of which collectively generate significant CO2 emissions,” the company said.
De-Ice believes companies opting to use its system could eliminate an average of 30-45 min. icing delays per flight.
The company’s board is comprised of notable aviation and aerospace figures including JetBlue co-founder John Owen; former American Airlines Chairman and CEO Don Carty; retired General USAF Robert Nolan; former FedEx CEO Greg Hall; former VP Safety and Testing for Virgin Galactic Todd Ericson; Russ Arena, former chief pilot for Raytheon; and Porter Airlines’ VP Technical Operations Justin Tiplady.
Related Content
