United has taken a stake in advanced propulsion developer ZeroAvia, in a an agreement that could see the carrier order up to 100 hydrogen-electric engines that could be retrofitted onto United Express regional aircraft by 2028, pending certification. Revealing the pact on 13 December, the Chicago-headquartered airline said the ZA2000-RJ engines would be fitted onto its 50-seat Bombardier CRJ550 jets. “Hydrogen-electric engines are one of the most promising paths to zero-emission air travel for smaller aircraft, and this investment will keep United out in front on this important emerging technology,” says CE Scott Kirby. “United continues to look for opportunities to not only advance our own sustainability initiatives but also identify and help technologies and solutions that the entire industry can adopt.” United says that it is looking to take 50 engines initially, with an option for 50 more – enough to operate 50 twin-engined aircraft by the end of the decade. Previous initiatives by ZeroAvia have focussed on the conversion of turboprop-powered aircraft; while the fuel source and powertrain is different, both ultimately deliver that power by turning a propeller. The CRJ550, meanwhile, uses twin GE Aviation CF34 jet engines. No detail on the engineering required for that conversion was immediately available. <br/>
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Virgin Australia said on Tuesday it would enter a new codeshare and loyalty partnership with United from April 2022, replacing a longstanding partnership with Delta on US routes. Virgin last year stopped flying from Australia to Los Angeles but had maintained a relationship with Delta in competition with a rival partnership between Qantas and American Airlines. United has a much larger market share than Delta on routes between Australia and the United States and Virgin said the new partnership would triple its reach into the Americas, including on flights to Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. United customers will also gain access to Virgin's extensive domestic network in Australia under the arrangement. Delta said in a separate statement that its operations to Australia would not be affected by Virgin's decision and it would continue to operate flights between Sydney and Los Angeles after their partnership ends in June 2022.<br/>
Air New Zealand said it has increased its government loan facility by NZ$500m ($337.90m) as it faces continued headwinds from domestic lockdowns and COVID-19-related travel restrictions across its global network. The company plans to raise fresh equity in the first quarter of 2022 to weather the impact of the pandemic, the airline said on Tuesday. The government had earlier promised to participate to maintain its majority shareholding in the national flag carrier. Air NZ suspended its cash burn outlook in October following tough coronavirus restrictions in Auckland, as the country's largest city tried to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant of the virus. Since then, the government has outlined a plan of phased reopening of borders from 2022, which the airline says provides an indicative pathway to reopening New Zealand for international travel. "However, the future impacts of COVID-19 remain uncertain and circumstances continue to change all over the world," Air New Zealand said. "It is important that the airline has sufficient flexibility to withstand presently unforeseen delays without relying entirely on increasing debt levels." The new package makes an overall liquidity support of NZ$2b available to the airline. As of Dec. 14, the company has drawn NZ$505m of the existing loan and estimates borrowings from the support package could be NZ$900m by late February or March 2022.<br/>