From cryogenic motors to Singapore Changi's new huge Terminal 5 (The Allplane Newsletter #99)
A new season of the podcast kicks-off!
Talking about hydrogen-powered aviatIon with Paul Perera, founder of Fluxart, a startup creating cryogenic motors and expert on all things aviation sustainability. LISTEN.
eVTOLS in Latin America, with Felipe Varon, CEO of the eponymous advanced air mobility startup. LISTEN.
What’s new in Sustainable Aviation?
Electric Aviation
CNN piece about Pipistrel and how the Slovenian electric aircraft manufacturer, recently acquired by Textron, has an early movers advantage in the upcoming electrification of the flight training industry. LINK.
Advanced Air Mobility
Starting this section with a big shout-out to my colleague Pamir Sevincel, who has just launched Clear Prop!, a newsletter that collects technical insights from the advanced air mobility space.
So, if you are into eVTOLs and other forms of advanced air mobility, give it a go!
EVE and Blade are going to do a real-life simulation of eVTOL flight in Chicago this September…just that without the actual eVTOLS (helicopters will be used instead). The idea is to test several use cases and the sort of operations and procedures that will affect the passenger journey. LINK.
How Palantir works with Lilium. A VIDEO.
Japanese airline ANA is testing drones for medical deliveries across Japan. Quite a detour from the company’s core business! But ANA has been investing in quite a broad range of tech initiatives in recent years.
SMG Consulting has updated the AAM Reality Index, which tracks the evolution of the many different AAM projects (nice illustration rendering, btw!). LINK.
A vertiport network is being projected in Québec by VPorts. LINK.
Airbus is partnering with Japanese helicopter operator Hiratagakuen to evaluate the development of AAM services in the Osaka-Kansai area. LINK.
eVTOL test project in northern Sweden, with the participation of battery manufacturer Northvolt (which obviously has an interest in the development of electric aircraft and acquired US-based Cuberg to this end). The pilot route will run between Skellefteå airport and Northvolt Ett gigafactory. LINK.
An interesting interview with the new CEO of Volocopter, Dirk Hoke, covering his professional background and his plans for the German eVTOL startup. LINK.
Letter of intent between Korea’s MintAir and Jaunt for 40 eVTOLs from the latter. For more about Jaunt check the recent podcast with its CCO, Simon Briceno.
GKN Aerospace has assembled and delivered the first VX4 demonstrator to Vertical Aerospace. LINK.
There is an AAM startup in Australia! LINK
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Delta placed a 385M-gallon SAF order. The interesting aspect of this story is that green hydrogen is going to be one of the elements used to produce this fuel through the Fischer-Tropsch process. The supplier DG Fuels, will build a new plant, which will start production in 2026 and boast a huge 839 MW electrolyzer, which will dwarf the largest ones currently in existence, in China. LINK.
The ITA Airways A350 doing flyover at the Monza F1 Grand Prix in Italy is powered by a blend of SAF produced by Italian energy firm ENI. Anecdotal in itself, but one more instance of SAF initiatives flourishing pretty much everywhere. Eni, which produces SAF from waste, has been fuelling some of ITA’s flights since late 2021 and continues to use it on routes from Rome to Venice and Barcelona. LINK.
Mexican LCC Volaris (part of the Indigo Partners portfolio) had its first SAF flight, although it was not a regular commercial flight. A brand new A320neo made the first leg of the long ferry flight (Mexico-Reyjkavik) from the Airbus’ factory to Mexico. LINK (in Spanish).
SAF also in Greece, where Aegean Air, in a pattern that is being repeated over and over in many countries, is partnering with the local energy supplier, Hellenic Petroleum in this case, to add SAF to the mix. The fuel is going to be supplied by Neste. LINK.
Hydrogen Aviation
ZeroAvia will participate in LaunchAlaska, together with 16 other innnovative firms. LaunchAlaska is a programme to test and deploy sustainable technologies in the Arctic state. LINK.
What else in sustainable aviation?
No more 4-engined aircraft will be allowed at Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion airport (TLV). But, is this a relevant parameter?
Aviation journalist and air passenger experience expert John Walton reviews Lufthansa’s new “Green Fares” (available on certain flights departing Scandinavia). He is not totally convinced. LINK.
Other interesting stories in aviation:
Singapore is almost doubling the size of Changi airport. The new Terminal 5 was officially presented a few days ago. LINK.
Singapore Changi future Terminal 5. Picture: Changi Airport
Finnair is launching flights from 3 Nordic capitals (Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm) to Doha, in partnership with Qatar Airways. The Finnish flag carrier is looking for opportunities to deploy its long haul fleet after the closure of Russian airspace and the winding down of its secondary hub at Stockholm Arlanda airport. LINK.
Wizz Air is launching 20 new routes connecting several cities in Central and Southeastern Europe to Saudi Arabia. This may be the first step to setting up a local subsidairy in the Saudi Kingdom. The growing interest of the European LCC in the Saudi market was one of the takeaways of the Future Aviation Forum that we attended last May.
Aeroflot is ordering 339 Russian-made planes, a mix of the new MC-21 (210), Sukhoi Superjets (89) and Tupolev Tu-214 (40) airliners. The airline’s top management acknowledged it is unlikely that Western types will be available anytime soon. LINK.
It looks like Air Moldova won’t be finally restarting its flights to Moscow. The previously announced move has been blocked by the Moldovan government. LINK.
An interesting profile of Allegiant, a US carrier that often doesn’t get that much press, on PaxAero. LINK.
While eVTOLs get most of the media attention. Leonardo keeps working on its conventionally-powered AW609 tiltrotor, a unique concept in its own way. LINK.
India’s SpiceJet seems to be back from the brink, for now. LINK.
A new article on The Points Guy: aviation in Antarctica. How flies there and how. LINK.
Updates in the list of airlines that stop operations this year. LINK.
And in the list of new airlines of 2022. LINK.