Heart Aerospace's new plane, Eviation & more (The Allplane Newsletter #100)
I can’t believe this is the 100th newsletter already!
Anyway, let’s see What happened in the world of aviation in the last few days
New podcast episode
Addison Schonland, of AirInsight, has been on the podcast for the 2nd time (he was one of the very first guests right after launching!) to discuss the main trends in the commercial aviation industry, from new aircraft types to airline economics. Insightful as always! LISTEN.
Electric Aviation
Heart Aerospace made a big media splash with several major announcements:
-> It is launching the ES-30, a 30-seater aircraft. This means upscaling from the previous ES-19, 19-seater concept. The new aircraft, which is a significantly new design, will also be battery-powered and is expected by 2028.
Picture: Heart Aerospace
-> Heart Aerospace’s ES-30 will be primarily battery-powered, but it is, in fact, a hybrid. “The airplane will also include a reserve-hybrid configuration, consisting of two turbo generators powered by sustainable aviation fuel”. The need to carry enough energy to meet range and performance and safety (reserve) requirements continues to be a tall order for even the boldest startups in this space!
-> Air Canada and SAAB became investors in Heart Aerospace. Each will put $5M into the project.
-> The Canadian carrier will also be ordering 30 of the new ES-30 aircraft
-> Existing orders and most letters of intent have been re-confirmed to the new specs
Another prominent electric aviation startup, Eviation, was also in the news this week:
GlobalX (the brand of the Florida-based Global Crossing Airlines Group) is ordering 50 of Eviation’s Alice electric aircraft, primarily for service in Florida and the Caribbean. LINK.
Advanced Air Mobility
United Airlines invests $15M in EVE and places and order for 200 4-seater eVTOLs (+200 options) as well as joining several industrial cooperation projects with EVE and its parent company Embraer. Earlier this summer it has already committed $10M (+100 aircraft) to another eVTOL company, Archer. Hedging the bets here, although the business case for airlines getting into AAM remains a bit fuzzy, imo. LINK.
Picture: United Airlines
Hydrogen aviation
ZeroAvia’s UK-based Dornier228 has started ground tests with one engine powered by the hydrogen powertrain. The company published a video of the moment. LINK.
What else in aviation?
More details are emerging about Saudi Arabia’s new airline, which apparently is going to be called RIA and is going to have access to a whooping $30B of funds. This points to the airline aiming to play on the same league as the so-called MEB3. LINK.
Northern Pacific Airways has offered a glimpse of its cabin. You can see the pics here. The launch of this new carrier has been quite an interesting exercise in airline branding and product definition. LINK.
A raft of new articles appeared in The Points Guy: