Alaska Airlines has invested in aircraft engineering startup JetZero, a company that aims to reduce carbon emissions and fuel burn by as much as 50% with its blended-wing aircraft design.
The investment, made through Alaska's venture capital subsidiary Alaska Star Ventures, was the first by an airline in JetZero. It includes options for future aircraft orders. Alaska has not revealed the amount of the investment.
Blended-wing designs integrate an aircraft's wings with the fuselage, resulting in a smoother shape than today's tube-and-wing passenger planes, thereby reducing aerodynamic drag and aircraft weight. Extra width in the fuselage also opens new options for cabin layouts.
"At Alaska, we are always looking for ways to innovate and shape the future of air travel for our guests, employees, and industry," said senior vice president of public affairs and sustainability Diana Birkett Rakow. "We are proud to invest in JetZero's development of this innovative next-generation aircraft, with a significant step-change in fuel efficiency."
Long Beach-based JetZero was founded in 2021 by Mark Page, who led the first NASA-funded blended-wing design initiative, and by Tom O'Leary, former COO of electric air taxi startup Beta Technologies. JetZero is targeting a 2030 launch for its aircraft.
Last year, the Defense Department awarded a four-year, $235 million grant to JetZero. The grant is designed to culminate with a first flight of JetZero's full-scale demonstrator in the first quarter of 2027, company literature says. A 12.5%-scale version of that demonstrator received its FAA Airworthiness Certificate this spring.
The investments of Alaska Star Ventures, founded in 2021, are geared toward accelerating the progress of Alaska Airlines in its efforts toward net-zero carbon emissions, which it has committed to reaching by 2040.