In this episode, we speak with Lahiru Ranasinghe, Director of Sustainability at easyJet, who shares what it takes to move a major low-cost carrier from a sustainability blueprint to real-world results.

He discusses:

• From strategy to execution: How easyJet’s net zero roadmap has evolved from a planning document into an operational programme — and why the shift from building a strategy to delivering it changes everything about how sustainability operates within the business.
• Fleet renewal and the gauge advantage: Why replacing A319s with A320NEO and A321NEO aircraft is one of the clearest wins available right now.
• SAF’s structural scaling problem: Why easyJet has deliberately not committed its roadmap to uplifting SAF beyond mandated levels, and the structural reason why the first-mover advantage in SAF works in reverse compared to aircraft procurement.
• Long-term technology bets: The significance of the completed Rolls Royce hydrogen gas turbine engine test at NASA Stennis, what it means for narrow-body hydrogen propulsion at the 30,000-pound-thrust level the industry needs, and 
• Partnership with JetZero: How JetZero’s blended-wing-body (BWB) plane could change the aerodynamics of the aircraft and deliver 50% aerodynamic efficiency savings.
• Contrails and the airspace connection: Why easyJet sees contrail avoidance as an opportunity to be a rule-maker rather than a rule-taker, and why effective contrail management cannot be separated from the broader project of airspace modernisation.
• Regulatory frameworks and the wait-and-see problem: How both RefuelEU and the UK Revenue Certainty Mechanism have successfully created demand certainty but have inadvertently encouraged producers to wait for more favourable conditions before committing to production.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Tom O’Leary, CEO & co-founder of JetZero, who shares how the company is developing the world’s first commercial blended wing body aircraft. Check it out here.

Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.

Feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.

Links & More: 

Our destination is net zero - easyJet 

easyJet and Rolls-Royce complete hydrogen engine test - Fuel Cells Works 

ATOBA, easyJet and World Fuel sign MoU for long-term supply of SAF - Biofuels International 

easyJet believes hydrogen propulsion is the future of short-haul flying - SimpliFlying