The EU emissions debate heating up in Brussels, IATA AGM, flight reviews…
It’s been quite a while since the last newsletter, including some major industry events, such as IATA’s AGM in Rio de Janeiro, which have allowed me to get a first hand impression of some of the industry’s most pressing matters.
So, rather inevitably, today’s newsletter is truly packed with news and stories. I hope you enjoy it!
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) roundup
There has been some encouraging news in the SAF field. For example, a KLM E-Jet flew between Amsterdam and Hamburg using power-to-liquids e-SAF made by German company INERATEC.
Another power-to-liquids e-SAF producer, Twelve, has also inaugurated its first industrial-scale plant, called AirPlant One, in Moses Lake, Washington. Production from this plant will be used by Alaska Airlines.
Austria-based (Chinese-owned) Diamond Aircraft has tested 100% SAF on a piston-engine aircraft. Now this would be interesting enough, but there’s more to it, because what Diamond is doing is also blending different types of SAF, or Sustainable Blending Components (SBCs).
→ The rationale for doing this is that, as the company explains, in the future it is likely that ground fuelling infrastructure will need to handle SAF made through different pathways and being able to use blends (which themselves will also be further blended with fossil aviation fuel) will simplify the process massively.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has launched the first voluntary personal SAF purchase program in Japan, allowing passengers to contribute to SAF purchases.
The British government is allocating £219 million (US$290M approx.) to support sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) projects. This program will start accepting project applications in mid-July for the first tranche (endowed with £93 million).
Phelan Green, a South African renewable energy firm, will build an e-SAF plant in the Western Cape, capable of producing 35,000 tons of the stuff per year.
→ Interestingly, the output of this future South African SAF plant is not meant for the local market, but for export to the UK and the EU.
Interesting piece about Spain’s Moeve (formerly known as Cepsa), the country’s second largest oil and energy company, which aims to position itself as a leader in sustainable aviation fuels. The company will be producing 800,000 tons of SAF per year by 2030.
In Latvia, NorSAF, a consortium linked to Avia Solutions Group, is preparing to build one of Europe’s largest SAF plants.
Brazilian firm Acelen Renováveis (backed by UAE’s Mubadala) has secured US$1.5B in bank financing to develop SAF projects in Brazil.
The European aviation emissions debate is heating up
Several European aviation industry bodies, gathered under the umbrella of the "Destination 2050" initiative, have addressed an open letter to the European Commission urging restraint in the application of the EU ETS regulatory regime and urging the European authorities not to extend its geographical scope, since it could trigger a massive backlash from other countries, harming European interests.
And the opposite side of this debate is represented, among others, by Transport & Environment, which has published this report, asking for more restrictive carbon rules in order to encourage the faster adoption of cleaner technologies.
→ At the IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro, the organization’s outgoing Director General, Willie Walsh, blasted governments and energy companies for what he thinks is an unfair distribution of the decarbonization burden and a rapacious behaviour when it comes to taxes and charges.
Electric Aviation & Advanced Air Mobility
Exciting to see Bye Aerospace readying its first eFlyer 2 prototype aircraft.
Bye Aerospace is a true pioneer of aviation flight, but had rather been quiet of late. Good to see it has been making progress!
ElektraTrainer is heading north for a summer tour of Scandinavia.
→ This reminds me the e-flight challenge of summer 2023, pitching an ElektraTrainer aircraft against a Lucid Motors car across the whole length of Germany!
AutoFlight’s V2000CG CarryAll has been granted type certification by Indonesia. What is relevant about this is that this is the first overseas certification of an eVTOL (understood as a certification issued by an aviation authority from a country other than the one of origin of the eVTOL developer). This unmanned cargo eVTOL had already been certified in China in 2024.
→ It is interesting that, while generally speaking, less international media attention than their Western counterparts, Chinese developers are hitting one milestones at a time!
Another eVTOL developer that is doing little noise is Honda, which has fly-tested a prototype of its unmanned cargo eVTOL.
REGENT has completed the construction of its manufacturing complex in Rhode Island. The question now is: when can we expect the Seaglider to be certified (as a naval craft, not as an aircraft!) and enter service? When will be plant be working at capacity?
→ Talking about Seagliders, REGENT has partnered with Japanese shipping company Mitsui to define a certification path for the wing-in-ground vehicle in Japan.
Munich-based ERC Systems unveiled an unmanned cargo drone with a payload of 250kg which it calls "Victor U250". That’s quite a drastic pivot from the company’s previous focus on piloted eVTOLs for the use of emergency services operators.
→ The German startup is, reportedly, still working on the latter, a prototype of which first flew last year, but had switched due to interest from military operators in unmanned cargo delivery. The Victor U250 should have its first test flight later in 2026 and, the company claims, is expected to be ready for certification and entry into service by 2028.
Here’s an interesting concept being developed by WhisperAero, the JetFoil, which uses multiple electric ducted fans to achieve near-VTOL performance. Check out Stepehen’s article for a detailed explanation.
New Horizon Aircraft has raised $25M which is plans to use in furthering the development of the Cavorite X7 eVTOL.
Venture Capital & Aviation Entrepreneurship
Volant Aerotech, the Chinese eVTOL developer, has closed yet another round of funding, this time for US$150M.
→ I actually had to double check this, since the same company had already closed a US$300M Series C round barely a month earlier (which we covered here), but this is apparently an additional capital injection. Wondering how far these amounts take you in the Chinese aerospace environment.
Turkish Airlines has launched its own venture capital fund (following in the footsteps of quite a few other large airline groups) and it has already closed its first deal, an investment in a software company that helps manage procurement processes.
→ This reminded me that Turkish Airlines has actually had its own startup pitching channel "Invest Onboard" on its inflight entertainment system (IFE). Let’s see if they also use it for their own deals pipeline!
Could a semi-private charter operator à-la-JSX work in Europe?
Swiss aviation executive and former Etihad CEO Peter Baumgartner is launching a new operator along these lines.
Peakjet is launching its first with routes from Zurich to Mediterranean destinations such as Mallorca, Nice and Malaga. This one is going to be interesting to watch!
According to The Times, British airship developer Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) is frantically trying to secure £310 million in funding to be able to move forward with its certification process, a necessary condition to be able to unlock customer funding from pre-committed orders. Aerospace entrepreneurship is hard! (h/t Paul Perera for this one)
The guys at Wingbits have created something really cool: wingbits.ai uses AI to uncover customized air traffic insights. Here is one of the founders explaining it in his own words. Basically, it allows you to use natural language to create specific queries about global fleets and air traffic movements.
→ Btw, check out the podcast we did about Wingbits earlier this year.
A little earthquake in the sustainable aviation industry as one of its most prominent entrepreneurs, Val Miftakhov, stepped down from his CEO role at ZeroAvia, fueling further rumors that the company is not doing that well lately.
→ Val was also a guest of the podcast.
Aircraft Development Milestones
JetZero broke ground for its new factory in Greensboro, North Carolina.
French startup Kepplair has managed to obtain an ATR72 aircraft to start testing its firefighting system on a real aircraft.
Dassault has successfully completed the maiden flight of its new ultra-long range jet, the Falcon 10X.
Executive Features & Interviews
Check out my feature about one of Europe’s largest air ambulance companies, FAI Aviation, which happens to be also an executive jet operators.
My interviews with the CEOs of two very interesting airlines for AeroTime’s Executive Spotlight:
Passenger Experience: new reviews on Allplane.tv
On the passenger experience side, there are quite a few new reviews on the site:
A close look at the premium cabins of three oneworld members: American Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific.
Iberia A320neo Economy Class and the Madrid Schengen and non-Schengen lounges.
South America
A review of Brazilian airline GOL.
A review of Latin American low-cost carrier JetSmart.
Airport Hotels
A review of the London-Heathrow Renaissance Marriott (underwhelming).
Other Airline Stories:
I was also on CNN writing about the expected return of Pan Am.
Like every four years, many airlines have painted their aircraft with special liveries to support their national teams during the FIFA World Cup. Here’s a compilation.
