‘Electric flying is becoming a reality’, says easyJet CEO as they plan to test 9-seater electric plane...

‘Electric flying is becoming a reality’, says easyJet CEO as they plan to test 9-seater electric plane next year

While they are starting with a small plane, Wright is trying the ambitious goal of building a battery-powered 150-seat plane to compete with 737-size aircrafts in the market for short-haul trips (under 300 miles).

Considering flights under 300 miles consist of 30% of flights and that Boeing and Airbus sold close to 1,000 of those regional airplanes for about $90 million each last year, it’s definitely a huge market. Even if the starting price is higher, the cost of fuel is such a significant portion of the operating cost for airlines that the return on investment could be quick if the batteries are recharged with cheap electricity.

Burning jet fuel is also an important source of pollution and electric flight has the opportunity to fix that.

Unfortunately, they’ve had a few setbacks recently with two fatal crashes of two different electric planes: the Siemens electric plane prototype caught on fire in the air and an all-electric Pipistrel trainer plane also crashed recently.

But those tragedies are unfortunately almost inevitable with new flight technologies. I know it’s morbid, but that’s how most human progress has happened.

See https://electrek.co/2018/10/29/electric-flying-is-becoming-a-reality-says-easyjet-ceo-electric-plane/

#electricflying #easyjet

‘Electric flying is becoming a reality’, says easyJet CEO as they plan to test 9-seater electric plane next year
Electric propulsion is slowly taking over almost every segment of transportation, but flight remains the most difficult to electrify. Now, easyJet CEO says that ‘electric flying is becoming a…


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