COMPILED BY MAT THEW PARSONS
IN FOCUS
1
THE PRIVATE JET AIRLINE Norbert Werle chief executive, Air2E
WE SEE ELECTRIC AIRPLANES as the backbone of regional travel from 2025 onwards. Similar to the individually owned car – the favourite travel means of today – the airplane will be the future means of individual travel. Elec- tric propulsion is making this vision a reality. Additionally, self-flying vehicles will be implemented much faster than self-driving cars, due to lower complexity in the air. Both technologies together improve the econo- mies of flying by almost a factor of ten, which will make individual regional air transport affordable and open up the mass market. Siemens already has some experience with the electric drivetrain and several developers of small to mid-size airplanes are working on aircraft suitable for this vision. Especially promising are the designs of the BEHA (Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft) from Faradair and with an optimistic timeline, the fully electric Alice from Eviation. We expect that we’ll be able to include such planes in our services from 2025.
3
THE AIRLINE Gary Smith head of engineering, easyJet
SIGHT
WE KNOW IT IS IMPORTANT to our customers that we operate sustainably and the techno- logical advancements in electric flying that our partners Wright Electric are developing are truly exciting.
With a two-seater aircraft already flying,
Wright Electric’s aim is to have a nine-seater electric plane flying later this year, so prog- ress is being made. The target range of the electric plane is around 500 kilometres which, within our current route portfolio, would mean popular short routes, such as London to Amsterdam or London to Paris, could become electric ‘flyways’ in the future. Commercial electric flight is becoming a reality and so we can now foresee a future that is not exclusively dependent on jet fuel. Ultimately, it’s easyJet’s aim to have all-electric commercial passenger jets flying on most routes by 2027.
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Aviation industry experts share their views on the potential for
electric aircraft to disrupt regional air travel
2 4
THE OPERATOR Oliver Walker-Jones head of communications, Lilium
AT LILIUM WE BELIEVE in a world where anyone can fly anywhere, anytime. We’re developing a fully-electric, five-passenger aircraft that can take off and land vertically and travel up to 300km on one charge, in just one hour. We’re not just manufacturing the aircraft though: we’ll be operating it, too. With zero operating emissions and a low noise profile, we’ll be able to work within urban areas, allowing us to revolutionise the way people travel.
Thanks to the unique design of our air-
craft, we’ll also be able to achieve remark- ably efficient flight, meaning the cost of flying with Lilium will be comparable with today’s ground-based travel options. We expect to be fully operational in various cities around the world by 2025, with operations starting earlier than that in some test locations. We expect a wide range of travellers, from business executives to families and day-trippers.
THE MANUFACTURER Aviv Tzidon chairman, Eviation
OUR ALICE PLANE is an all-electric aircraft that is designed to take nine passengers up to 650 miles at a cruise speed of 240 knots at a fraction of the current air-travel cost. It will completely disrupt the regional
transportation sector, allowing customers to circumvent traffic while simultaneously reducing their emissions. This mode of transport will be open to any kind of regional travelling, for business or pleasure. The Alice’s state-of-the-art technology leverages an IP portfolio that includes thermal management and autono- mous landing, as well as distributed electric propulsion, airframe design, industry-lead- ing battery technology and cutting-edge composite body frames. Eviation will offer commuters and travel- lers a sustainable, quiet ride at a relatively low price, making this transportation option accessible to a wide array of people.
2019 MAY/JUNE 9
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