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Delta 737-800, manufactured by Boeing.
Fort Worth-based Aero Design Labs on Monday announced that it had a Supplemental Type Certificate from the FAA for its drag reduction kit on Delta Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 fleet.
An STC is issued when an applicant has received FAA approval to modify an aeronautical product from its original design, according to the FAA. The STC approves not only the modification but also how that modification affects the original design.
Aero Design Lab’s drag reduction kit is designed to reduce the amount of drag on the aircraft, resulting in reduced fuel burn rate and lower carbon intensity.
“The successful installation of our drag reduction kit on a Boeing 737-800 is an important next step in our business plan,” said Jeff Martin, ADL president and CEO, in a statement. "On behalf of ADL, we thank the Delta Air Lines team for their assistance in the successful installation and testing of the kit. We also thank our partners ALOFT AeroArchitects, NORDAM, and AAR for their valuable assistance through the certification process. I am very proud of the ADL team for achieving another milestone in the development of our company and our continued commitment to carbon reduction."
Aero Design Labs was founded in 2015 to development and install drag reduction systems for airline fleets globally.
In March, the company was granted an STC for Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 737-700 fleet. It was targeted to achieve about 1.5% lower fuel burn that equated to an estimated $12,000 per month in savings and around 40 tons of emission reductions per aircraft per month, the company said then.
The company said then that it had hoped its ADRS-1 kit could be adapted to the 737-800 and 737-900.
According to Aero Design Labs and Delta’s memorandum of understanding, application for certification of the technology for the 737-900 will begin in the second half of 2023. Delta would then have the option to purchase the kits to outfit most of its more than 200 aircraft in the two fleets.
Delta has declared a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
“This is an exciting step in our strategy to bring valuable savings to the 737NG family,” said Chris Jones, ADL's chief commercial officer. “Adding this latest STC to our portfolio in a configuration specific to the 800 means we are able to generate fuel savings and reduce carbon emissions for this popular variant. We are very excited that Delta will be flying the certified 800 kit in revenue service in the weeks ahead as well as building out our customer base going forward.”