Dutch airline KLM has teamed up with TU Delft to create the Flying-V aircraft concept, which is designed to consume 20 per cent less fuel than Airbus' A350.
KLM has signed an agreement to financially support Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in its research and development of the V-shaped aircraft, in a bid to make aviation more sustainable.
The aircraft's V-shaped design will integrate the passenger cabin, the cargo hold and the fuel tanks into the wing structure.

Compared to the Airbus A350 ? one of the most advanced aircrafts of today ? the long-distance Flying-V aircraft concept is smaller, giving it less aerodynamic drag and a reduced weight.
According to KLM and TU Delft, this means the aircraft will use 20 per cent less fuel than the Airbus A350. While the Flying-V concept is shorter than the A350 at 55 metres, it has the same wingspan of 65 metres, meaning it will be able to use existing infrastructure at airports like gates and runways, and will fit into the same hangar as the A350.
It will also be able to carry the same number of passengers ? 314 in the standard configuration ? and the same 160 cubic metres of cargo volume.

"We are incredibly pleased to be able to cooperate with our trusted partner KLM on our combined mission to make aviation more sustainable," said Henri Werij, dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft.
"Radically new and highly energy-efficient aircraft designs such as the Flying-V are important in t...