Speaking at the airline’s ecoDemonstrator European Expo at Frankfurt airport, Boeing Europe president Martin Donnelly said working together would lead to problems being solved more easily and also mean quicker sharing of the solutions.
EcoDemonstrator is Boeing’s flight test research programme, which has used a series of specially modified aircraft to develop and test aviation technologies designed to improve fuel economy and reduce the noise and ecological footprint of aircraft.
Donnelly cited the recent Boeing 777 flight from Seattle to Frankfurt, which tested more than 50 greener solutions, as a sign of the airline’s commitment to a more environmentally-friendly future.
He said: “We know the future of our company and the wider industry is in continuing to develop technologies through partnerships.
"We don’t have all of the answers, but we want to be part of the conversation.
"We are looking across Europe at technologies to reduce emissions and make less noise."
Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator programme has been running for eight years and has tested more than 100 technologies on five different aircraft.
Pierre Dominique Prumm, executive director aviation and infrastructure at German transport company Fraport AG, agreed collaboration is key.
But he argued the industry must do more to defend the work it has done in making aviation cleaner compared to other modes of transport.
Prumm cited Germany, where although 850,000 people are impacted by aircraft noise, 6.9 million have issues with train noise and a further 9 million with cars.
He added the industry accounts for 3% of all global emissions – a figure he argues would be higher without the steps made in the sector.
Prumm said: “Thanks to Boeing and Airbus, modern aircraft have lower fuel consumption and produce less noise. We are the only traffic carrier showing these results. We are showing the world we want to take our responsibilities seriously.”
