Decarbonising commercial aviation will require a mix of solutions: fleet renewal, SAF and new propulsion technologies each have a role to play. (Hybrid-)electric flight is one of these important levers and is still at an early stage. That is why our webinar “The Future of ‘Electric Flying’” on 27 October, moderated by Michael Rurik Halaby, FRAeS (MUFG), focused on one central question: what does it take to move from prototypes and test flights to commercial scale?
Our expert panel with Jane Keith (SLI), Jan Petter Steinland (Luftfartstilsynet), Simon Newitt (BETA TECHNOLOGIES) and Simon McNamara (Loganair Limited) agreed that the technology works, but the challenge lies in sequencing. Here are some of the key takeaways:
🔸A systems transformation: Jan Petter Steinland argued that aircraft, infrastructure, airspace and regulation must develop in parallel. Norway’s international test arena shows how this can work, as it brings operators, regulators and increasingly the financial sector together to learn from real operations.
🔸Building confidence: Simon McNamara emphasised the importance of real-life trials with electric aircraft to build trust among the airline, airports and authorities.
🔸Step-by-step market entry: Simon Newitt explained why BETA starts with cargo before passenger services, with healthcare and defence as further segments: this allows public trust and regulatory frameworks to mature step by step.
🔸Creating liquidity and sharing the early risk: Jane Keith pointed out that electric aircraft can open up new markets instead of replacing existing ones, which supports liquidity. She also noted that lessors can take part of the early risk so that operators do not have to move first.
