UWaterloo, NAVBLUE Team Up to Drive Sustainability in Flight Operations

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University of Waterloo’s Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) and NAVBLUE, an Airbus company, have partnered to address some of the industry’s most complex sustainability challenges through applied research and innovation.

Over the next five years, NAVBLUE and WISA will explore how emerging technologies can identify and drive sustainability in NAVBLUE’s core business of software for operations and crew management, flight planning, aircraft performance, flight data analysis and navigational data.

“The aviation industry relies on trusted partners like NAVBLUE to provide state of the art integrated systems that work in the background yet are the backbone of every traveller’s experience,” said Suzanne Kearns, director of WISA. “There are enormous opportunities to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the sector, by supporting more direct and efficient operations, thus reducing fuel burn and resulting emissions.”

A first in Canada, WISA was launched in the summer of 2021 to foster cross-disciplinary research technology, and education aimed at making the aviation and aerospace sectors more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics, to research new technologies for flight operations” said Thomas Lagaillarde , head of Product Portfolio & Programmes and Managing Director Canada at NAVBLUE. He adds: “Sustainability is a complex issue we can only solve by working together. Working with WISA allows us to combine NAVBLUE’s flight operations expertise and Airbus’ manufacturing knowledge, with the University of Waterloo’s renowned research capabilities to build sustainable solutions for our partners.”

Sustainable aeronautics is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field that encompasses all types of air transport, including aviation, aerospace, and space. Researchers develop innovative solutions, tools, and practices to create a viable future for air transport that delivers long-term social, environmental, and economic value.

“Aeronautics can be a force for good – connecting people around the world, driving cultural and economic exchange, creating millions of jobs, and providing limitless opportunities for innovation” said Jean Andrey, Dean of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment, where WISA is housed.

The long-term viability of the aviation and aerospace industries depend on socially, environmentally, and economic sustainable solutions and practices. Through this partnership, faculty and graduate students from across the University of Waterloo will work collaboratively with the team at NAVBLUE on applied research to address some of the industry’s most complex issues.