The A380 Honu is back, Seagliders, Airships... (Allplane Newsletter #60)
Sustainable Aviation Stories
A Pipistrel Velis electric aircraft landed at Schiphol, one of Europe’s busiest airports. The aircraft was operated by the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), which is conducting several test flights around the Netherlands, visiting other commercial airports as well. Anecdotal it may be, but very symbolic.
Sustainable Aero Lab, the startup incubator based in Hamburg, Germany (whose founder was on our podcast!), has published a nice “industry map” of sustainable aviation, with a summary of the four main areas where the action is taking place, that is optimization through software and better tech tools, electric flight, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen.
A couple of interesting articles that deal with the, often overlooked, financial side of the eVTOL revolution. Where is the capital needed to deploy the future eVTOL fleets going to come from and how operators are going to structure the deals. This is a two part instalment on the eVTOL Magazine: Part 1 & Part 2.
Skellefteå airport, in the cold North of Sweden, has inaugurated a power supply outlet for electric aircraft. The location is not random: this area is home to battery pioneer Northvolt and the ELIS project, that aims to demonstrate the possibilities of electrically-powered regional aviation. In fact, one of the first routes top be tested is the one linking the airport to Northvolt’s factory, 25km away, turning a 30min car journey into a 8min eVTOL flight.
For more context:
How an electric-flight community has sprung in the Kvarken region, the area straddling northern Sweden and Finland
Our podcast with the founder of Northvolt’s aviation battery subsidiary Cuberg
Our podcast about sustainable aviation in the Nordics with Swedish expert Maria Fiskerud
The UK may considering a mandate to make airlines disclose the carbon footprint of their flights.
An interesting proposition. Some companies, such as RouteHappy (which was acquired by aviation data firm ATPCO) have attempted to provide additional layers of qualitative information about flights and airlines before. Are there some interesting technological, data crunching and business opportunities here?
In the US, the Federal government is considering measures to reduce the air travel industry carbon footprint, this may include sustainable aviation fuel mandates.
Is it a helicopter? is it an eVTOL? Hydrogen startup HyPoint and helicopter firm Piasecki have joined forces to bring hydrogen fuel cells to rotor craft.
New Zealand domestic carrier Sounds Air has firmed its pre-order for Heart Aerospace future all-electric 19-seater airliner.
Joby Aviation has partnered with NASA as part of the latter’s Advanced Air Mobility Campaign, which aims to familiarize the public with new air mobility concepts and eventually lay the grounds for future public policy in this space. In particular NASA will study Joby’s low noise profile, an essential element if eVTOLs are to become ubiquitous and an aspect that the Californian startup takes pride in.
Bye Aerospace sold 3 eFlyer electric trainers to Icelandic flight training school Reykjavík Flight Academy. Bye seems to have found a receptive market in the environmentally-conscious Nordic countries, with OSM Aviation of Sweden placing a 60-strong order last year.
Norway’s Elfly group is trying to develop an electric seaplane. Earlier this year I chatted on the podcast with Tomas Brødreskift, one of the key people leading this project.
4Air has created a digital map that lets you see where SAF is available.
By the way, here is the podcast we did with 4Air’s founder about sustainability in the executive aviation industry.
eHang offered a glimpse of its factory in China:
Dufour Aerospace, from Switzerland, has presented some more details of its Aero3 tilt-wing eVTOL. Looking sleek!
Rio de Janeiro is going to be a test bank for UAM operations in Brazil, with an active role for Embraer’s Eve subsidiary and a number of other firms in the ecosystem.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has joined forces with Toshiba to research synthetic aviation fuels in Japan.
Her Majesty’s government has published its hydrogen strategy (that covers many other industries other than aviation). Here is the document.
Also in Britain, UK Research & Innovation published its Future Flight Vision for 2030.
WHAT ELSE HAS HAPPENED IN THE AVIATION WORLD?
(in no particular order)
Two new articles I’ve published on CNN that you may find of interest:
OceanSky is bringing back the airship for luxury trips to the North Pole
REGENT, a US-based startup wants to link coastal cities with a new generation of the ground-effect-vehicles it calls “seagliders”
Japanese airline ANA is reactivating its small A380 fleet. These are the 3 “Honu” A380s, that are painted each in a different colour and in a pattern that resembles that of a Hawaiian sea turtle. Here is our first hand account of the delivery of the first of those beautiful planes.
More airplane->train connectivity in Europe: Easyjet linking with German railways operator Deutsche Bahn at Berlin airport (through a system powered by Icelandic software firm Dohop, which specializes in systems that interconnect different travel operators, be it airlines, airports or railways) and Delta offering onwards train connections to Belgian cities for passengers arriving at Amsterdam Schiphol.
The bright red livery of Icelandic airline PLAY may become a (planespotting) sight at US airports next year. Not a surprise, since it was always in the business plan and it seems that the application has now been submitted for official approval.
Airline software giant Amadeus is partnering with Hopper, a US-based startup that, although starting as a smart booking software app (which I featured on this CNN article back in the day) has successfully pivoted towards travel fintech, offering a range of flight-related insurance solutions. In particular, this deal will see Hopper’s “Cancel for Any Reason” solution being distributed on the Amadeus platform.
British leisure-oriented operator Jet2.com ordered 36 Airbus A321neos. Although not the largest order, this one has caught quite a lot of attention, because Jet2.com was until now a solid Boeing-only operator.
Singapore Airlines is offering members of its Krisflyer programme the chance to take part in a specially chartered two-night cruise in November. Although this will be at sea, there will be some nods to the airline organizer, such as the fact that those on premium cabins will be served SIA’s First Class in-flight meals on the first night. Interesting how some airlines keep coming up with new ideas in these times of still partially restricted air mobility.
Finavia has shared some details of Helsinki’s airport €1B revamp, which will highlight elements of Finnish craftmanship and nature, such as the massive wooden ceilings at the main entrance. Even before this last round of udpates, it was already one of the World’s best airports
Airbus Helicopters has launched a photo contest. Operators of Airbus helos are encouraged to send pictures for a 2022 helicopter-themed calendar. Very cool.