Air Asia, Belugas, Aura Aero & more (The Allplane Newsletter #144)
Electric Aviation
Check out this behind-the-scenes piece about Aura Aero, the French startup that is one of the most promising electric aviation pioneers. I went to Toulouse to interview its founder and CEO.
More details have become known about Elysian Aircraft, the new battery-electric aircraft development project which promises to have a 90-seater, battery-powered plane capable of flying 800 km by 2033. Pretty ambitious!
Finnish startup Lygg has signed an agreement for 150 Electra aircraft (plus 150 options). I guess this is a Letter of Intent more than a firm order, but if exercised it could have a value north of €1B. Lygg raised €3.6M in the summer of 2023 and has a business-traveller-focused business model that aims to offer flexible travel between regional airports, particularly to companies whose staff needs to travel often between specific locations.
Is Irelandia (the investment family of the Ryan family and an active investor in the airline industry) planning to invest in electric aircraft airline?
Advanced Air Mobility
EHang has conducted some demo flights in Guangzhou and Hefei carrying real passengers, although calling them “commercial flights” is maybe a stretch.
Supernal, Hyundai’s advanced air mobility subsidiary, presented its SA-2 eVTOL at the CES show in Las Vegas.
Odys Aviation, an advanced air mobility developer, is partnering with Aramex, a logistics and courier operator in the Middle East, in order to induct into service electric and hybrid cargo aircraft. The Gulf is likely to be one of the first regions to see advanced air mobility operations at scale.
Spain-based eVTOL developer Crisalion is receiving €5.4M from the Spanish government.
Hydrogen Aviation
Rolls-Royce and Easyjet are conducting research on liquid hydrogen propulsion.
What else in aviation?
Air Asia announced a number of changes in the way that its different airlines are organized. Namely, Air Asia X, its long-haul subsidiary is going to formally merged with the other airlines of the group, while the parent holding company, Capital A, will focus on the other group’s businesses. Read my chronicle from RedQ, Air Asia’s HQ in Kula Lumpur.
Airbus’ Beluga cargo subsidiary has obtained its own AOC.
What’s up in the Argentinian airline industry after Milei’s victory?
An interview with Leona Qi, President of VistaJet’s US business, in which she explains how Vista Jet became a leading player in the American executive aviation market, despite being a relative late-comer.
Check out the end of year updates to the list of new and bankrupt airlines of 2023.