Todd Citron on fuel efficiency
From Boeing Fireside Chat (Forum 360) · · AIAA
“If you look from the beginning of the jet age to now the fuel efficiency of aircraft improved over 80% which is a pretty phenomenal achievement but we have a lot more that we need to go. There's another 80% that's really important which is about 80% of the people on this earth have not flown on an airplane and when we look at how co taught us retaught us the human need to connect aviation plays an essential role in that. So it's incumbent upon us to continue to drive the efficiency of the airspace system.”
On , Todd Citron, Chief Technology Officer, Vice President and GM of Boeing Research & Technology at Boeing, spoke about fuel efficiency during Boeing Fireside Chat (Forum 360) on AIAA.
About Todd Citron
Todd Citron, Boeing's Chief Technology Officer, discussed the company's technology strategy and safety approach during a January 2026 fireside chat. He said Boeing is working to embed human-focused engineering design in commercial aircraft by partnering with universities to layer real-world certification examples onto academic safety analysis. Citron noted that about a third of Boeing's demonstrated technologies appear on real products, citing the natural laminar flow winglet tested in 2012 that led to the split winglet on the 737 Max, which he said provides a 2% efficiency improvement per aircraft. He also called for collaboration among regulators, oil and gas companies, and OEMs to advance sustainable aviation fuel, and described end-to-end optimization with real-time data as a potential source of 10% fuel efficiency gains. In May 2025, Citron participated in a podcast discussing the "Art of Business" program, which provides financial education and mentorship to student-athletes and musicians in Lafayette, Louisiana. He said that with the existence of name, image, and likeness (NIL) programs, student-athletes should be treated as small businesses requiring community investment)Skip. Citron expressed skepticism about simply giving athletes money without education, stating that programs like "Art of Business" could help athletes avoid financial missteps.